A report at EAA.org is asking all pilots to urge their congressional representatives to support a letter from the House General Aviation Caucus that supports closing a loophole in federal regulations that is moving aviation fuel tax revenue to highway trust funds. The problem arose when some trucking firms allegedly began purchasing jet fuel for […]
Aviation Fuel
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 […]
Lycoming gets FAA nod to update list of approved fuels
Just weeks after Lycoming Engines announced it would seek approval to operate certain engines on ASTM D7547 UL 91 unleaded avgas, it has received FAA approval to update its listing of approved fuels. Lycoming’s newly available Service Instruction SI-1070R lists 35 engine models approved to operate on ASTM D7547 UL 91 fuel. The models are […]
Autogas expert Harry Zeisloft dies
The sad news of the death of Harry Zeisloft reached us this week. As reported by the EAA, “Harry Zeisloft, who was one of EAA’s longest-serving board members and an integral part of EAA’s effort to create the auto fuel Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), passed away Sunday, April 1, in Mesa, Arizona. He was 93.” […]
UL91 explained
Last month, Lycoming expanded its support for alternative fuels by announcing that it was seeking EASA approval for operation of many of its engines on the unleaded aviation fuel UL91. The company also announced it was planning to approve its new O-233 LSA engine for autogas, a clear response to engines from Rotax, Jabiru, ULPower, […]
ULPower’s new 6-cylinder autogas engines
Belgian aircraft engine maker ULPower recently announced a new line of FADEC-controlled, autogas-burning six-cylinder engines ranging in output from 140-200 hp. According to Robert Helms, general manager of ULPower North America, “The thrust to weight ratio is appealing to the designers of many aircraft. Whether you are focused on short takeoff, high economy, or high […]
Lycoming seeks approval on unleaded avgas
Lycoming Engines has applied for approval to use UL 91 unleaded avgas in several of its engine models, including those in the 233, 235, 320 and 360 engine families. Engines in the 540 family will follow as Lycoming completes additional validation, Lycoming officials said. Lycoming has submitted for ASTM D7547 UL 91 unleaded avgas approval […]
FAA avgas research funding ‘critical’
Officials at general aviation’s alphabet groups have sent a letter to Congress emphasizing that the FAA is a critical participant in continuing research to develop an unleaded aviation fuel, according to a report at AOPA.org. The letter urges Congressional support for funding in the agency’s fiscal 2013 budget.
The staggering chicken test
In response to a previous column in which I expounded on the problem of exhaust valve recession with unleaded fuels, I received a note from Ron Newberg, which reminded me of work done by the oil companies back in the early 1970s. I actually ran some of these tests, in which we demonstrated that Tri-Cresyl […]