Phase 1 testing of four possible replacements for 100LL begins this month at the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City.
The four unleaded fuels — one from Shell, one from TOTAL, and two from Swift Fuels — will undergo laboratory and rig testing to analyze a number of factors, including materials compatibility issues with aircraft components, such as fuel bladders, fuel gauges, pumps and more.
Last December, Shell Aviation revealed that it was the first major oil company to develop a lead-free replacement for 100LL.
The lead-free formulation is the result of 10 years of “exhaustive R&D,” according to company officials.
While some worry that large companies will forsake GA as it is such as small segment of the fuels market, Shell officials say that’s not true for them.
When I started to write this post on unleaded avgas, I sat down to read about the upcoming evaluation program for four candidate fuels. The more I read the more questions it raised.
For instance, why does Swift Fuels have two candidates?
But the biggest question concerned the percentage of the piston aviation fleet that the new candidate fuels will satisfy. A few questions arise, like which engines are the most critical, under what conditions will they knock, which airframe, propeller, operating conditions are most critical, and on and on.
A new above ground fuel facility offering pilots the ability to refuel their own aircraft has opened at the Lake in the Hills Airport (3CK) in Illinois.
Fuel is the lifeblood of aircraft and pilots. Most aircraft need it to power their engines; pilots need it, in the form of oxygen and proper nutrition, to power themselves. The November issues of General Aviation News will turn the spotlight on fuels — all kinds — and look at the current state of affairs, as well as what we can expect
As always, we’d love to hear from our readers. Email General Aviation News Editor Janice Wood with your feedback.
A few weeks ago I received an email with a cartoon of a mature lady sitting back with a glass of wine. The caption read, “Another perfect day, and I never had to use algebra once.”
I smiled a little, but then got to thinking about how much we use math and science in our everyday life. And I started to wonder why people look down on their time in school taking these courses as a waste of time, because, in actuality, we use math and science many times every day. [Read more…]
The FAA has awarded Crown Consulting a five-year $12.5 million contract to assist the agency’s Aviation Fuel and Engine Test Facility (AFETF) at the William J. Hughes FAA Technical Center in performing research, test, and engineering analysis to develop standards and aid in selecting unleaded gasoline for general aviation.
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Synergy Flight Center at Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI), recently gained approval to sell fuel at the airport and has since joined the Avfuel Branded FBO Network to offer Avfuel Contract Fuel and AVTRIP Rewards.
Was it only me, or did anyone else find the press release by the FAA announcing that it has selected four fuels for further testing to replace 100LL this fall to be a bit peculiar? In case you you missed it, the official press release from the FAA is here. Articles also appeared on this site, General Aviation News, and from the EAA.
None of the articles answered any of the obvious questions that came immediately to my mind, for instance:
While the government begins its testing of four potential 100LL replacements, George Braly and Tim Roehl of General Aviation Modifications Inc. in Oklahoma just finished up yet another test of their unleaded 100-octane avgas — G100UL — at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The fuel underwent flight testing and engine block testing in one of the school’s carbureted 172s.
“No issues were found,” Roehl reports. “We just lack a couple of other tests to complete our first STC on the 172.”