A well-known US company has recently announced the development of a new diesel engine designed specifically for helicopters use. The engine, called CD-170R, is an evolution of a previous version designed for small airplanes, compared to which it promises a strong reduction in fuel consumption and double redundancy operation.

"The CD-170R was designed with the pilot's needs in mind. Controlled via Fadec with aircraft-specific software mapping, pilots can now direct their attention to critical phases of flight and mission, alleviating the need to simultaneously manage controls throttle and collective", explained David Dörner, vice president of Global Research and Development. 

The engine was developed by Continental Aerospace Technologies, specialized in the production of aviation engines, a company founded in 1929 and now controlled by the Chinese group Aviation Industry Corporation of China (Avic), one of the major industries in the Dragon sector. The CD-170R engine (evolution of the four-cylinder CD-170) has a power of 170 HP equipped with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (Fadec) to reduce fuel consumption: up to 30 liters per hour at cruising speed.