In the past few months, my friend Paul McBride has written several very interesting and informative articles on “breaking in” an aircraft engine, including “How to break-in your engine”. I recommend that you read them when or if you have a new or rebuilt engine to install on your aircraft. There is a lot of […]
Visser's Voice
Why does 100LL cost so much?
Recently, we received a number of emails concerning the cost of 100LL at various locations, as well as the cost of 100LL vs. Jet A. Obviously, there is still a lot of confusion about this, so I thought I would try to shed some light on the issue. When crude oil arrives at the refinery, […]
Technically speaking…
The quest to find some answers at Oshkosh In my last post, I had the gall to be less than positive about things at the Oshkosh airshow. I was surprised at the positive feedback about similar experiences. However, our publisher, Ben Sclair commented that to see Oshkosh through the eyes of a new aviation enthusiast […]
Oshkosh changes bring a bit of sadness
One of the highlights of my summers is a trip to Oshkosh, Wis., for the annual AirVenture show. The best parts of the show are seeing what is new and catching up with old friends. Since I have been going to this show for about 30 years, I have noted a lot of changes. I […]
GAMI’s search for an avgas alternative
Recently, my wife and I decided to take a road trip to Texas to visit friends and fill up on good Cajun and Tex-Mex food. On our return, I stopped to visit GAMI — General Aviation Modifications, Inc. — in Ada, Oklahoma. GAMI builds and sells a line of parts designed to improve performance for […]
The effect of lower octane fuel on your airplane
Last week I was watching TV when I heard a loud clap of thunder and saw a flash. This was followed by the lights going out and the very sickening sound of electronics going bye-bye from the computer desk. The next morning the lights were back on, but the computer had sacrificed its life to […]
Avgas Economics 101
After I wrote about my visit to Swift Fuels, I received several notes asking why it would be so difficult to determine a price for the finished product. I have a good friend who runs an auction company and when I ask him what something is worth, he usually replies, “Whatever someone is willing to […]
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 […]
Our fuels expert visits Swift Fuels
Swift Fuels has been working on a 100 octane unleaded avgas for a number of years. I have been, shall we say, less than enthusiastic about the company’s work for various reasons. However, as of late, the company seems to be making some real progress, so I drove down to Indiana to visit its facility. […]