At the invitation of well-known sport aviation advocate and publisher of Powered Sport Flying Roy Beisswenger, GAfuels co-author Kent Misegades appeared on the April 12th Powered Sport Flying Radio Show. Kent’s discussion with Roy can be heard in these two segments archived online.
A tough winter for ethanol
April 24, 2011 by 3 Comments
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
With ethanol production now accounting for 40% of the US corn crop, a doubling in the world price for corn commodities in the past year, the resulting increase in the prices we pay for food and E10 fuel, the tragic unrest in the Middle East that began with protests in Tunisia over food prices, and more frequent calls for an end to ethanol subsidies by members of Congress, it has been a tough few months for the ethanol industry.
Autogas for everyone – Part III
April 20, 2011 by 3 Comments
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
In Part I of this series, we reviewed the history of the STCs that allow us to use 91+ AKI octane, ethanol-free autogas in hundreds of different legacy aircraft and engines. Part II described the Anti-Detonation Injection (ADI) system from Petersen Aviation/Air Plains that will enable many aircraft not covered by these STCs to operate on affordable, abundant autogas. In the final part of this series, we’ll describe the many piston aircraft engines that are best run on autogas, not leaded avgas. These fall into three categories: two-stroke engines, auto engine conversions, and newer aviation powerplants that have been designed from the outset to operate on autogas. [Read more...]
Autogas for everyone: Part II
April 14, 2011 by 2 Comments
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
In Part I of this series, we reviewed the history of the autogas Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) that allow us to use the fuel in hundreds of different legacy aircraft and engines. But what do aircraft owners do when their airplanes are not covered by these STCs, for instance later model Beech Bonanzas, Barons, Cessna 210s and 310s, Mooneys, and other aircraft with high compression-ratio engines? Many of these aircraft will be covered by the latest development from Petersen Aviation, the Anti-Detonation Injection (ADI) system for light aircraft. [Read more...]
Autogas for everyone: Part I
April 11, 2011 by 4 Comments
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
Judging from the reaction to the Aviation Fuel Club, interest at airports and among pilots regarding the “other” aviation fuel, autogas, has never been stronger, especially with avgas prices exceeding a stunning $9 a gallon at some FBOs. Many pilots are now asking if autogas is a legal and safe alternative for their aircraft. This three-part series of articles seeks to answer this question. [Read more...]
Tecnam announces the P2012 Traveller, its second autogas-burning twin
April 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
In the past year, your bloggers have documented the continued decline in the use of leaded avgas and its virtual disappearance in many parts of the world. Clearly, aircraft and engine manufacturers are reacting to this trend with their latest generation of products using powerplants made for ethanol-free autogas or Jet-A. Last week, the Italian company Tecnam announced its new 11-seat twin-engine P2012 Traveller.
Ethanol petition nears its goal
March 29, 2011 by 2 Comments
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
With the number of retail sellers logged at Pure-Gas.org poised to reach a record monthly high, our petition calling on a ban of the blending of ethanol in Premium gas is nearing its goal, too. If you have not logged your local suppliers of ethanol-free fuel at Pure-Gas, please do this now. If you have not signed the petition, please consider doing this, and don’t forget to tell everyone you know who wants a choice in the fuel they burn in their engines. Upon reaching our goal, several members of Congress who understand the widespread damage being caused by ethanol will be taking our message to the EPA, FAA and other government agencies that can influence the future of ethanol mandates. Please take a moment to educate your state and Congressional representatives on this important issue. A simple means to do this is to forward this posting to them, which includes below some of the recent comments from aircraft owners you’ll find on the petition.
In search of the illusive octane
March 21, 2011 by 2 Comments
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
By Dean Billing, director, Aviation Fuel Club
First, let me say, “OCTANE IS NOT AN INDICATION OF POWER”! If you learn nothing from this post, always remember octane is not a specification, or the measurement, of gasoline power or quality. The octane rating is only a measure of a fuel’s ability to burn in a controlled manner, rather than exploding or detonating in an uncontrolled manner. The higher the octane specification the more resistant the fuel is to detonation in a high compression engine.
Now comes the really confusing aspect of octane rating for gasoline. [Read more...]
Jet-A versus Diesel fuel
March 17, 2011 by 2 Comments
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
Recently, your bloggers were discussing the use of diesel fuel at airports with Mike Webb, founder of U-Fuel and former owner of the FBO Oshkosh Aero. Mike had mentioned the common practice at airports of using waste Jet-A fuel from daily tank sumpings (knowing at airports as “thiefing”) in ground equipment powered by diesel engines. But are Jet-A and diesel fuel really the same? GAFuels blogger Dean Billing says no, but its use in older diesel vehicles is probably OK. This lead to a broader discussion of the use of Jet-A in aircraft compression ignition engines.
10 Mogas myths
March 16, 2011 by 11 Comments
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
Evidence of the growing interest in the use of affordable, lead-free, ethanol-free autogas, AKA, “Mogas,” in General Aviation is evidenced by Ben Visser’s recent article on the topic, The fuel of the future: Is it already here? and the results of a survey conducted by AVWeb. Further evidence is the overwhelming interest we’ve experienced to the introduction of the Aviation Fuel Club, the new Sport Fuel program, and thousands of comments on our petition calling on a ban of the blending of ethanol in Premium gasoline. There remains, however, some confusion about the pro and cons of using Mogas, something we hope to dispel below:
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