Centurion Simplifies Maintenance

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Centurion Aircraft Engines says it has extended the life of its 2.0 liter diesel aircraft engines to 1,500 hours and eliminated a requirement to ship the engines to its German headquarters for a 1,200-hour inspection. The engines previously had a TBR (time before replacement) of 1,200 hours and there are still a few things that need replacement at that interval, including a belt, hoses and coolant. Under the life extension plan, the company had previously mandated that the 1,200-hour inspection be done at the factory but it’s now allowing service centers to do the work, which takes about an hour. Removal and replacement of the engine takes about 13 hours, not to mention the time, expense and aggravation of shipping the engine to Germany under the old rules. “A particularly important aspect for fleet operators in this regard is the reduction of the aircraft on ground (AOG) period,” the company said in a news release.

Centurion is now working on getting the TBR to 1,800 hours. Centurion picked up the pieces from the failure of Thielert Aircraft Engines, which became insolvent two years ago. The insolvency caused serious service disruptions for Thielert engine owners, most of them Diamond Aircraft customers. Diamond has since certified its own diesel engine, the Austro, to replace the Thielerts.

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