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FAA Wants All Aircraft Flying On Unleaded Fuel By 2018
coondoggie writes "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week put out a call to fuel producers to offer options that would safely let general aviation aircraft stop using leaded fuel by 2018. The FAA says there are approximately 167,000 aircraft in the United States and a total of 230,000 worldwide that rely on the current 100 octane, low lead fuel for safe operation. It is the only remaining transportation fuel in the United States that contains the addition of tetraethyl lead, a toxic substance, to create the very high octane levels needed for high-performance aircraft engines. Operations with inadequate octane can result in engine failures, the FAA noted."
Tell you what, why don't you route your exhaust through the plane cabin and filter it with your lungs first.
The issue is not with airlines (which use Jet fuel) or with Commercial operations (mostly using newer engines). It is with the flight schools and other General Aviation users.
The problem with leaded fuels is not really that technology to use unleaded is not available, but that most of the General Aviation Fleet that is flying is older technology. Majority of the GA fleet are from 1970's or 80's when Cessna and Piper dominated the market.
Then came lawsuits (frivolous and otherwise) and most of the manufacturers filed for bankruptcy. The airplanes from the 90s tend to be mostly homebuilt. Post 2000s a lot of the companies came back from bankruptcy and started making airplanes again. The only problem is that a new Piper costs about $200K while a perfectly usable 1970s Piper with overhauled engine and modern avionics is only about $30K. Airplanes last a lot longer than cars if regularly maintained. So most flying crafts tend to be old.
So these older planes which were designed for leaded gas get recertified for low lead gas, but can never use unleaded.
Newer aircrafts tend to do two things,
1) Run on motor gas (mostly involves certifying for unleaded gasoline) . This has the nice side effect that the gas tends to be about 30% cheaper.
2) Run on Diesel/Jet Fuel / Kerosine - In this case it sidesteps the entire lead problem and also avoids using spark plugs (depending on the design). Fuel availability is a lot better, though not always cheaper.
One easy solution is to make unleaded mandatory for any Light Sport aircraft (which tend to be the newer airplanes built) and to increase a fee imposed while overhauling older engines (which get done every 1000 hours).
That said, this move would permanently ground the WW2 display fleet that is currently flyable and a bunch of old Piper Cubs and Ercoupes. But they are all pre-ww2, so not a big loss I guess.
http://slashdot.org/submission/1062723/Cheap-mobile-data-plan?art_pos=2
I've seen the Missouri State Police show up at a livestock auction and check every pickup as they leave. They were writing tickets by the bushel.
Yeah, its a good thing that the FAA isn't talking about new engines at all, but instead calling on fuel producers to come up with replacement fuels that will work in current engines. Which is stated not only in TFA, which I can understand is a huge bother to read before complaining, but in the first sentence of the summary, as well.
Mix two different octanes of avgas together and the dyes disappear. It is a feature of avgas to alert pilots in case they mix octanes.
Bullshit. You clearly have *NO* clue how general aviation works. Anyone can go to the airport with a gas can and use the self serve station. Records are not kept. You do not have to own an aircraft to buy avgas. People at the airport here use it in the lawn mowers, the tugs, golf carts, chainsaws, etc. Hell, I use it in my 2-stroke RC car. I've bought 100LL all over the state on my personal credit card for aircraft I don't own.
Don't present as fact that which you have no clue about.
They are also much lower volume production than car engines. The designs are different enough that it isn't easy to just substitute automobile engines for aircraft use. Its been tried, and has worked in some cases, but not many.
Basically aircraft engines turn slowly (usually 2700 rpm max) because the propeller tips need to stay subsonic. Gear boxes are very heavy because of the large moment of inertia of the propellers and haven't worked very well in most installations. The low engine speed means that it needs very large displacement (9 liters is not uncommon) to get the required power. Light weight / high airflow give you air cooled, aluminum-finned engines. The aircraft engines are actually very efficient at their normal operating point. Part of this is due to the high compression allowed by high octane fuel.
Sorry, I must disagree.
The bike I ride is water cooled and uses CV carbs. A one-in-four gal mix seemed to increase torque somewhat dramatically. Were the carbs clean? Yes. Valves adjusted? Yes. Compression fine? Yes.
Hilly country rides became immensely pleasurable, although yes, the engine temp increased two notches in ten. Unfortunately, that doesn't translate to degrees on the bike's thermometer. Nonetheless, it was wahhhhhoooo time.
Placebo effect entirely. In fact, the bike actually made LESS power on the 100 octane than it did on the lower octane fuel. In all scenarios, the best power is made on the lowest octane fuel that doesn't result in detonation.
caveat: assuming similar fuel composition. Therefore, if the pump gas in your area has 10% ethanol, the non-ethanol avgas will run slightly better. However, the increase in energy density from the lack of ethanol is offset by the inefficiency of combustion associated with the higher octane burning significantly slower...so we're back to the placebo again.
You must be a young bugger.
The main reason for leaded gas in older cars is for the lubrication that it provides. Running unleaded gas in old VW engines would burn the valves in short order. Lead substitutes do work, but it's an added thing to bother with. Sometimes you can get old heads that have been modified to work with unleaded fuel.
Is an older car worth it? Absolutely! Long after your piece of shit new car packs in it's electronics, my old Land Cruiser will still be going strong. If your POS car is in my way, I'll just roll right over it. And just you try to drive your Fucking Tesla through a four foot deep river crossing.
And just stop it with the 'Think of the Children' argument. Fuck the children.
Fucking Pansy!
Why is it that most of the people that I encounter seem to have been shat from the Sphincter of Mediocrity?
It also smells different. I don't know why.
Mercaptans, organic compounds that occur naturally in crude oil. They seriously stink; methyl mercaptan is what your gas company puts in the gas so you'll know when you have a leak, and T-butyl mercaptan is essence of skunk. Get car gas on your hands, wash with soap and water, and you'll still smell the mercaptans.
Mercaptans also congeal with age and gum up fuel systems. Aircraft operators take that a little more personally than car owners do, so avgas has the mercaptans refined out.