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 […]
Aviation Fuel
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 […]
The future of fuels
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 […]
Using physics to fuel safely
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 […]