“”What is the effect of having mixed 10% ethanol with avgas and/or ethanol-free mogas on two or three occasions?”” asks reader Ken Rice. “”The place where I bought ethanol-free mogas lied to us about the change to 10% ethanol. I only found out about it when I asked the tanker driver.”” “”What is the effect […]
Visser's Voice
Understanding octane
The most interesting and least understood part of a fuel’s properties is the octane quality or number. The most interesting and least understood part of a fuel’s properties is the octane quality or number. The octane requirement of an engine is affected by the combustion chamber shape, the bore size, the compression ratio, the load […]
The difference between 100/130 and 100LL
Dennis writes that he’s been been buying 100LL for many years and thought that 100/130 was different from 100LL. He remembers buying 100/130 one time and it was green, not blue like 100LL. He also noted that the chart for adding TCP to the fuel calls for more additive when 100/130 is used than when 100LL is used.
Stump the expert
Own an antique engine? Own an antique engine? So does Paul Cullman, who has an aircraft with a Salmson 9AD engine built in 1928. The manual for this engine states: “”For summer use mineral oil Mobiloil Aero H and for winter Mobiloil W.”” The manual also states that if the above lubricants are unavailable, in […]
There are no simple answers to complex problems: And no magic pill for unleaded avgas
In my last column I berated the author of a letter to the editor about a simple solution to the unleaded fuel crisis (The definition of insanity, Sept. 7 issue). In my last column I berated the author of a letter to the editor about a simple solution to the unleaded fuel crisis (The definition […]
The definition of insanity: Finding a solution for 100LL requires looking at the facts
In the Aug. 10 issue of GANews there was a letter to the editor in response to my article on unleaded avgas and the insanity of developing a marketable product (Unleaded avgas: You’d have to be insane to try to develop it, June 6 issue). The letter stated “”What’s to develop? Leave out the lead […]
Can I use an SAE 60 oil?
Dan Mooney, who has several round engine aircraft and a Skybolt with a Lycoming IO360A1B engine, has a question: Can he use oil from a drum of Phillips 25W-60 that he has for his round engines in his Skybolt? He concludes with, “”It gets pretty hot around Tulsa, Okla., in the summer.”” Dan Mooney, who […]
The positives of unleaded gas
In my last column, Unleaded avgas: You’d have to be insane to try to develop it (June 22 issue), I discussed the downside to the proposed lead phase out for aircraft piston engine fuels. But, like most things in life, there’s also a positive side to the issue. In my last column, Unleaded avgas: You’d […]
Unleaded avgas: You’d have to be insane to try to develop it
I received numerous comments about my recent article on the bonehead editorial in another magazine that called for the removal of brain-dumbing lead from avgas (Misguided public opinion could end avgas, April 20 issue). One of the notes was from a Dr. Lyons concerning the futility of trying to replace leaded avgas. He also pointed […]