I have received a number of questions regarding the level of zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) in modern automotive engine oils. It appears that people are experiencing a significant number of camshaft and lifter failures on newly overhauled engines with flat tappets. The failures appear to be caused by a lower level of ZDDP in the latest […]
Visser's Voice
The pain of budget cuts
Years ago I lived in southern Illinois where high school basketball was THE sport. When we moved to Texas in the mid-1970s, it was quite a culture shock. No one knew of or ever went to a high school basketball game. But football was king. Every Friday evening, almost everyone went to the game. The […]
The answer to GA’s woes: Technology
There is a story going around about a toothpaste company that was having quality problems. It seems that every once in a while an empty tube would go through the system and get to the stores. This was causing several customers to threaten to cancel their orders. So the president of the company, who was […]
What oil should I use?
The two most common questions that I still get are: 1. What oil should I use in my aircraft engine? And 2. Are different brands and grades of oils compatible? In this column I will limit the discussion to certified engines, such as Continental, Lycoming, radials and older certified aircraft engines. For these engines there […]
A Q&A with Lycoming’s top man
After Oshkosh, I sent an email to Michael Kraft, Lycoming’s senior vice president and general manager. Due to this busy travel schedule, he was just able to get his answers to me. To honor his request, I agreed to run this in a Q&A format. Q: Is Lycoming working on or considering development of a […]
How to prevent cam and lifter wear
Reader Dave Fletcher recently sent an email concerning the failure of the camshaft in his Lycoming IO-360 engine. He was concerned about pre-oilers, Ney Nozzles, CamGuard and other oil additives. This is a subject that both engines expert Paul McBride and I have addressed before, but I thought I would try to add a little […]
A reality check on the future of 100LL
The future of avgas has been a hot topic for almost 20 years. I recently reviewed some of my past columns and found that I was not too far off in some of my past predictions, but I thought I would try to update them with a touch of reality. The recent Super Bowl reminded […]
To lean or not to lean, that is the question
I’ve recently received several emails regarding whether to operate lean of peak (LOP) or to stay on the rich side. Let’s start with a short review of the chemistry and physics of combustion. Liquid avgas will not burn — it must be mixed with air. The chemically correct or stoichiometric ratio of air to fuel […]
Blue skies ahead for Cessna’s diesel 182
One of the interesting technical stories from this summer’s AirVenture in Oshkosh was that Cessna has completed certification and introduced into the market a diesel cycle 182 aircraft, known as the Turbo Skylane JT-A. The engine, produced by SMA, a division of the French company Safran, is an opposed, 4-cylinder air cooled engine laid out […]