So what happens when 100LL is gone anyway?

Michael wrote:
Yeah, but it would have to be an FAA-certified treatment. Can you see
the problem yet?

Why? You don't obey every single rule 100% of the time in your car,
why should your airplane be different?


Hmmm... the FAA ramp-nazis would love to hear that I tend to be
pretty conservative about my flying - probably because the margin for
error is much less than driving. If an additive was proven to be safe
and effective, then I would use it. I'd prefer it to have the feds'
blessing but that's another issue altogether I think.

Hmmm... the FAA ramp-nazis would love to hear that

No doubt. We have some private airports here where the FAA goes only
in groups - and they very pointedly stay away from any airplanes
they're not directly involved with. I hear rumors that some FAA
inspectors disappeared, but I'm sure they're only rumors.

I tend to be
pretty conservative about my flying - probably because the margin for
error is much less than driving.

I'm really not convinced that's true, but in any case it's irrelevant
here. I worked for quite a while in the refinery insdustry
troubleshoting the distillation towers, and I learned a lot about how
fuels are made. I still design instrumentation for that industry. I
can tell you with a high level of confidence that while you may pay for
a high level of quality control in avgas, you aren't getting it. The
specs on that stuff are obsolete, it's a pain-in-the ass customer
special (not a high-margin product like automotive premium), and it's
the first thing they screw with when the main frac goes wonky. And the
lead additive is 1940's technology. They don't even maintain a
constant amount - they just add it until they make octane on the test
engine.

So what I'm telling you is that when you switch to a boat-engine lead
additive and premium autogas, you're actually being more, not less,
conservative.

Mcihael

Hey, no argument here. If a TEL substitute added to autogas keeps the
Lyc (or Cont.) happy I'd use it. I'd just feel better knowing it was
approved by the federales aeronauticos... Interesting how avgas
formulation sounds more like an afterthought than a science.

When I said the margin for error is less than when driving, what I
meant was an engine failure on the highway means you coast to the
breakdown lane and call AAA on the cell. If the same situation happens
in a plane, you become a (heavy) glider pilot. The consequences of this
can be disastrous (obviously) if the failure happens during a critical
phase of flight or over water, mountains, etc. With that in mind, I'm
very careful about what goes in the tanks. The service manager of the
shop that annuals my Lance tells me about guys putting Mystery Oil in
the crankcase. It's not approved but these guys swear by it.