Common Cause
Game Plan for the Future
Two things will happen for sure in the next years – aircraft fuel will get more expensive, and it will get scarcer. Eventually, the environmentalists will win the legislative battles with the help of the EPA, and a phase-out plan will be formulated. GA will be out of gas, so to speak. Better have a plan or make the chocks permanent.
Here’s a plan to consider no matter what kind of plane you fly – buy and install an engine monitor. I don’t care what kind. Think about adding a fuel-flow feature as well – two grand total cost. Here’s what you gain: despite all the hype and the scare tactics about Lean-of-Peak (LOP) engine operations, you get the facts about what your engine is really doing. Better temperature control equals longer life. For an average $20,000 engine overhaul every 2,000 hours, this is a good deal.
Want to save money? Run LOP. Same temps either side of peak EGT. Give up 5 knots TAS. Save 25% fuel consumption. Slowly, ever so slowly, even the engine manufacturers are acknowledging the benefits: cleaner plugs, cooler valves, less cylinder cracking – less trouble overall. You just need an engine monitor to know what you are doing. And you get to save money by way of less fuel consumption. Fine-wire plugs help too.
What happens when 100LL goes away? Actually, it’s the TCE (the lead additive) that will go away. The 100 octane fuel could still be distributed and sold by the existing FBO networks, since TEL is added at the end of the pipeline. But wait!...now my engine will knock and maybe predetonate! Take a breath and think. If a FADEC becomes available as an STC, buy it. If not, just reduce your power setting.
We can reduce our engine horsepower in a few different ways: climb to a higher density altitude, reduce engine RPM, reduce the manifold pressure (MP), or run LOP. Just use your engine monitor to watch your CHTs (keep them below 380 F), and life will go on. Prudent use of engine cowl flaps is useful too. One discussed option is to use auto-gas, 91-96 octane. But this usually comes blended with 10% ethanol now, which chews up most GA fuel system components and seals.
But with engine monitor technology installed in our cockpits, we are not forced down this expensive road. Just sell us the 100 octane av-gas without the lead additive, and we’ll lower our engine HP with operational procedures, not expensive modifications. And if we are too stupid to do this, we get to buy new engines frequently, and help the economy of the engine manufacturers and A&P community. Or not fly.
The future trend in 100LL availability is clear. Being proactive now, we can draw up a plan that suits our individual type of flying without breaking the bank. The sky is not falling as the aviation media would suggest; there are prudent options, from which each of us gets to choose. Some will drift to auto-gas LSAs; some will defect to kerosene diesels. Most of us will adjust our engine operations, and keep flying.
Common Cause: Let’s take responsibility for our own response to the impending developments. Adjusting our operating procedures will always be the preferred option to buying expensive modifications, more federal regulations, or not flying at all. Equipping our aircraft with engine monitoring technology that was not available when they were built is now a smart move. Trading some minor adjustments to our current takeoff and climb procedures for continued flying as the fuel situation evolves against us also seems smart. You get to decide. Got a better idea? Let’s hear it!
Mike Sullivan
COM SMEL, CFI/MEI
C177pilot@live.com KHEF C-177RG