Photo courtesy Casey Frederick
Many modern LSA run well (perhaps “better”) on automobile fuel and have the least problems when no ethanol is involved.
Pilots who prefer no-ethanol auto gas number in the thousands and add to millions of other “pure gas” enthusiasts.
Kent Misegades writes, “For the past several years my colleagues and I have been waging a campaign to ban the use of ethanol in premium gasoline, thus preserving a safe, affordable, unleaded fuel for sport aviation as well as the millions of Americans who need “E0″ for their boats, snowmobiles, power tools, classic cars & bikes, among others.” Kent continues, “Thanks to vintage BMW owner Sam Hokin, his Pure-Gas.org list helps us find the fuel. We recently posted a petition that will be sent to the EPA administrator, Ms. Lisa Jackson, urging action on the issue. *** “The petition has been getting widespread attention among sport aviators, who have left comments such as these:” • (#2,390) The industry of Light-Sport Aircraft has been severely impacted by ethanol fuel. It dissolves our gas tanks, fuel lines, and gaskets causing in-flight engine failures, aircraft mishaps, and even death. We desperately need a local source of ethanol free gasoline. • (#2,382) I am the pilot of a weight shift airplane and ethanol in the gas can cause deterioration of the gas tank and gas lines on my plane. This in turn can clog carburetors which is potentially very dangerous as you can get engine failure. Gas with ethanol also breaks down faster therefore reducing engine performance, another dangerous hindrance. Please keep pure gas available for those of us that need it. • (#2,349) I fly a Light-Sport Aircraft that runs on automotive gas which needs to be ethanol free. I object to being forced to use gasoline blended with ethanol. I am also not comfortable with using a food source as fuel when the free market dictates that gasoline is cheaper. *** Kent opines, “With the future of 100LL uncertain (other than that its replacement will likely not be cheaper), sport aviators need a reliable, affordable fuel for the future. Premium (91 octane AKI) unleaded, ethanol-free Mogas is that fuel for 70%-80% of all airplanes, and for nearly all of LSA. We urge you to sign the petition and pass word of it on to all who need this fuel.” For more details on the subject of ethanol in engines, see FlyUnleaded.com, E0pc.com, and AutoFuelSTC.com. UPDATE —Information for this article was submitted by Kent Misegades, an engineer, aviation fuels expert, and President of EAA Chapter 1114 in Apex, North Carolina. Kent blogs on ByDanJohnson.com about the zero-ethanol movement. —DJ
Leave a Reply