General Aviation News

Work continues towards an unleaded avgas

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At this year’s SUN ‘n FUN, visitors saw a fuel truck with Swift Fuels emblazoned on its side.

It was there to promote the company’s unleaded UL94 avgas, the first of the company’s products to make it to market.

“We introduced the 94 fuel two and a half years ago to make it clear that this stuff is doable,” said CEO Chris D’Acosta. “People shouldn’t think, ‘Oh my God, is it going to be some weird thing?’ It’s not. It’s just unleaded fuel, that’s all. Airplanes still perform like airplanes.” [Read more…]

Ethanol and aircraft: Just say no

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Almost every month I receive a question or two about auto gas with ethanol. The questions usually center on whether it can be used in aircraft and if not, why not.

The answer I give is almost always: “ No because of technical and/or legal reasons.” [Read more…]

New training aims to prevent misfueling

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On April 17, 2015, a Cessna 421B pilot was forced to land on a highway, when first the left engine, then the right, lost all power during climb-out from Angelina County Airport (KLFK) in Lufkin, Texas.

According to the NTSB report, the plane was “substantially damaged,” while one person sustained serious injuries and two others sustained minor injuries.

When the pilot got out of the plane on the highway, he could smell Jet A fuel.

The problem? When he asked the FBO to top off the tip tanks, he meant with 100LL. [Read more…]

Rumors

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There is a classic quote: “Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.”

Although this blog is weeks after Oshkosh, any rumor that I wasn’t in attendance is greatly exaggerated. Granted, I drove from Oregon to Wisconsin, but I did actually attend and I can put a couple of rumors to rest.

When I arrived on the first day of the event, rumors were swirling that mogas was available for transient aircraft.

Mogas was indeed available at Oshkosh during AirVenture. [Read more…]

Oshkosh Bound: Has anything changed in the last year?

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As I was preparing my motorhome for the trip to AirVenture 2016, it dawned on me that I haven’t written anything for the GA Fuels blog in quite sometime. Perhaps that’s because not much is happening in the aviation fuel arena despite the nagging problems of TEL contamination and the perceptible decline in general aviation overall. The decline shows up in piston aircraft sales and the steady decline in avgas production.

Here is a short review of what has happened since AirVenture 2015: [Read more…]