In the 1970s, the automotive world switched from leaded to unleaded fuels and the oil companies did a lot of research on knocking and how to prevent it. One of the big projects involved octane requirement increase (ORI). In this program, cars were rated for octane requirement when new and then every 2,000 miles. The octane […]
Aviation Fuel
Taxing the lead out of 100LL
By DEAN BILLING. California was the first state to attempt to remove the lead from 100LL by lawsuit. Unfortunately, the result of the unsuccessful CEH lawsuit only increased the cost of 100LL in the state. Now, along comes Oregon, which wants to tax the lead out of 100LL. I have a feeling this method will appeal to […]
Testing the octane rating of aviation fuel
A wise man once said, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, then you have evidently not grasped the gravity of the situation.” When I first started working at Shell back in the late 1960s, we did a lot of work on octane requirements. Due to the poor correlation […]
Result Of CEH lawsuit settlement: Were there any?
By DEAN BILLING. Late in 2011, a little known environmental organization, perhaps totally unknown in aviation circles, Center For Environmental Health (CEH) filed a lawsuit against “30 companies that sell and/or distribute lead-containing aviation gas (avgas) at 23 California airports, calling on the companies to provide safer alternative fuels.” At the time, there was some fanfare in […]
The difference between 100LL and 100/130LL
In my last column, I proposed a way to get the lead out of 100LL — or at least out of the name. I received a number of responses, both pro and con. I always appreciate both types of comments and try to learn from them. I would like to address just one of the negative […]
Phase 1 testing begins on unleaded avgas
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 […]
Shell Aviation: A decade of research continues
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 […]
Search for 100LL replacement raises many questions
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 […]
New self-serve fuel facility opens at 3CK
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. The facility, which allows the airport to offer fuel sales at any time of the night and day, consists of two 10,000-gallon steel double-wall tanks which weigh in at […]