Re: "...the reason there are very few diesel aeroplanes, because..."
You can happily run an unmodified diesel engine on Jet fuel (I've done it, and US military hummers run on it almost exclusively) and you can happily put diesel in a gas turbine engine (Have done that too - one of the classic bodges is a mix of diesel and petrol in turbine helicopters if you're really in a pinch)
Most light aero engines are still using 1930s engine technology because it's difficult to homologate newer ones. This is why they have to be torn down at such ridiculously short intervals.
JET-A hasn't been on the market for a long time, but if you can find it, I'm sure your diesel won't mind it.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
