Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr
It's changing, but at a very slow pace. It actually does surprise me that liquid-cooling engines didn't become popular for general aviation, since they can provide heating for the cab without having to use any fuel-powered supplementary heater, and can be better enclosed to protect the block from thermal shock damage at a fast descending. The only general aircraft with a liquid-cooled engine that I remember right now is the Piper Archer DX.
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I guess the same engine manufacturers have a fairly good grip on their market, but business isnt interesting enough to acquire new entrants. So much depends on engine choice that the rest of the design is pretty much formulaic. A horizontal opposed engine suits the narrow 42" width cabin with side by side seating, indeed the weights of everything else can be plotted out from there.
Even the range, 20% of AUW for fuel, the burn is a known, the wing area and therefore total skin drag, and from that speed envelope. It creates a totally static design, nonetheless safe environment, but its way out of kilter with the times.