The engines of AERO Friedrichshafen

Your blogger is attending the AERO Friedrichshafen show in sunny southern Germany. Among the hundreds of exhibits are many new aircraft engines, some with names like Continental and Lycoming most Americans would recognize, but others that are relatively unknown in the U.S. While a full report will have to wait until next week, one thing is very clear: Europeans have already accepted a lead-free aviation future.

Every single engine on display here is described as being approved for 98 RON (approximately 93 AKI) autogas or Jet-A, in the case of diesels. You have to come to Europe, for instance, to learn that Continental Motors is in the process of certifying a new engine, the O-200-AF, as an autogas-burning alternative to the O-200-D avgas-only engine now powering the Cessna 162 Skycatcher.  The Continental IO-360-AF displayed next to Flight Design’s C4 cockpit mockup was described by a Lithuanian representative of the company as being welcomed in his country, since “we have many airports but no avgas in Lithuania.”

Engines from European manufacturers like Limbach, ULPower, Sauer, D-Motor, Rotax, Simonini and others all operate 93AKI autogas. Jet-A diesels too abound, especially from Austro Engines, Centurion, RED aircraft, and Zoche aero-diesels. Stay tuned for details.

The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., a pilot, homebuilder and expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.

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