On Jul 7, 11:51 am, "Jon" wrote:

Aircraft are already using electronic engine controls.

Cessna has diesel with electronice engine management, for one.

No, they're working on it. They don't have a saleable airplane.
Their engine is the Thielert Centurion, and Thielert is in deep
financial trouble, partly because they've had several engines quit
when the FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Controls) failed when
the power supply was lost. Electrical supply is critical, and so we
still have most piston engined airplanes using magnetos, which are
self-contained. Even airliners using electronic engine controls and
fly-by-wire flight controls still need several backup systems, both in
the computerized controls and their power supplies. Redundant systems
in little airplanes add a lot of complexity, cost and weight, and the
airplane becomes financially unattractive and a maintenance headache.
Any failure that kills someone can turn into a compnay-killing
lawsuit. One failure, one death. It's that simple. Thielert may not
survive their current problems, and their biggest customer, Diamond
Aircraft, who use the Centurion in their Twinstar, might buy it and
try to keep the supply coming.

Dan