Fuel Prices and their Effect on Your Flying

:
: That's what I had to explain to him... that he cannot stop me from refuelling
: my plane. I'm pretty sure that a 100 gallon tank would have to have some DOT-approved
: work to make it legal for transportation on the road. I don't know what the magic
: capacity limits, but obviously a semi trailer and a 5 gallon can in the trunk are
: subject to different rules.

: I've been told by one of my county commissioners who is also a partner
: on a 12,000 gallon self serve outfit at an airport near here as well as
: being a pilot that you have to be over 300 gallons before you have DOT
: problems. Like a lot of rural areas 100-150 gallon in-bed fuel tanks
: are everywhere here. I put mine on a trailer as I didn't like the smell
: in the garage and I needed the space in the bed for other things.

Interesting. I started looking into it at one point (talking with the fire
marshall, etc) but eventually lost interest. A trailer would be ideal since I've got
a crappy little car. Realistically however, I don't fly long distances often enough
to justify such a contraption... a few cans here and there is generally sufficient.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

wrote:



Interesting. I started looking into it at one point (talking with the fire
marshall, etc) but eventually lost interest. A trailer would be ideal since I've got
a crappy little car. Realistically however, I don't fly long distances often enough
to justify such a contraption... a few cans here and there is generally sufficient.

There's a national code which will apply to Freeways and US highways.
Your state may or may not have different rules, they probably do.
Likewise your city may have rules.

wrote in message ...
: It's safer, easier, and your fuel is filtered properly.

I can't argue with the easier and possibly not safer. I have rigged a spin-on
water-separating fuel filter to act as the pour nozzle of my 5-gallon cans. It keeps
the crud and water out and I just need to move the nozzle from can to can as I fill.
Mildly annoying, but just as effective.

-Cory



I never have had any water drain from the sumps of the 172 even after many many gallons of mogas (never any alcohol in
it btw), but it seems every time in put in avgas there are some little water bubbles at the bottom. Makes me wonder...

..Blueskies. wrote:
: I never have had any water drain from the sumps of the 172 even after many many gallons of mogas (never any alcohol in
: it btw), but it seems every time in put in avgas there are some little water bubbles at the bottom. Makes me wonder...

Wow... my experience is exactly the opposite. I only ran mogas without the water-absorbing spin-on filter for
a few weeks, but every time I would collect a few drops in the sump. Even with my separator, I get just a drop or two
of mogas, with a few specs of what looks like rust floating in the water but underneath the gasoline. I check for
alcohol a few times a year, although I was assured by the supplier to the service station I religiously get my fuel
from that there is no alcohol blended in. A few times a year assures against winter/summer mix.

Although I am disturbed by the existence of any contamination at all, it is always small and only in the fuel
tank sump drains. I have never found anything in the gascolator (sorry... not familiar with the 172 setup... I've got
one per wing tank and common gravity-filter gascolator before the carb).

100LL has always been squeaky clean for both water and particulates.

-Cory


--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

100LL has always been squeaky clean for both water and particulates.

The only time I've ever seen contamination is in avgas. Mogas, with
our filtration system especially, is never an issue.

I always figure it's because of the tiny amounts of 100 LL some of the
out-of-the-way airports we visit actually sells. Some of that gas in,
oh, let's say Maquoketa, Iowa, is probably two years old, and God knows
what the inside of the tanks look like.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
: I always figure it's because of the tiny amounts of 100 LL some of the
: out-of-the-way airports we visit actually sells. Some of that gas in,
: oh, let's say Maquoketa, Iowa, is probably two years old, and God knows
: what the inside of the tanks look like.
: --

Sure, but I've never seen a 100LL pump without a filter inline. Anyway... I
guess I haven't visited enough out-of-the-way places. I would have figured I'd seen
gunk flying to Alaska and back last summer, but of the 500 gallons of 100LL we ran
though it, there was never a spec/drop.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

Sure, but I've never seen a 100LL pump without a filter inline. Anyway... I
guess I haven't visited enough out-of-the-way places. I would have figured I'd seen
gunk flying to Alaska and back last summer, but of the 500 gallons of 100LL we ran
though it, there was never a spec/drop.

Hmmm. Although I've always considered Alaska to be "out of the way",
I've never considered it to be anything but at the heart of aviation
heaven.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no state in the Union with more
dependence upon general aviation than Alaska. I'll bet they chew
through a LOT more 100 LL than Iowa does...and therefore their gas
ought to be pretty "fresh".

Or as fresh as something made from dinosaurs can be, anyway...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

You can experince the same flying by going to Idaho and Montana and get
infinitely better weather to boot.



Jay Honeck wrote:
Sure, but I've never seen a 100LL pump without a filter inline. Anyway... I
guess I haven't visited enough out-of-the-way places. I would have figured I'd seen
gunk flying to Alaska and back last summer, but of the 500 gallons of 100LL we ran
though it, there was never a spec/drop.


Hmmm. Although I've always considered Alaska to be "out of the way",
I've never considered it to be anything but at the heart of aviation
heaven.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no state in the Union with more
dependence upon general aviation than Alaska. I'll bet they chew
through a LOT more 100 LL than Iowa does...and therefore their gas
ought to be pretty "fresh".

Or as fresh as something made from dinosaurs can be, anyway...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
: Sure, but I've never seen a 100LL pump without a filter inline. Anyway... I
: guess I haven't visited enough out-of-the-way places. I would have figured I'd seen
: gunk flying to Alaska and back last summer, but of the 500 gallons of 100LL we ran
: though it, there was never a spec/drop.

: Hmmm. Although I've always considered Alaska to be "out of the way",
: I've never considered it to be anything but at the heart of aviation
: heaven.

: Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no state in the Union with more
: dependence upon general aviation than Alaska. I'll bet they chew
: through a LOT more 100 LL than Iowa does...and therefore their gas
: ought to be pretty "fresh".

We didn't fly too much around... just into Juneau. The fuel stops along the
way were pretty well-traveled as they were practically the *only* ones in the area and
tended to be where there was a rather large town anyway. We didn't need to get fuel
in the few out-of-the-way places we landed (Atlin BC, and the Prophet River airstrip
come to mind).

Never ceases to amaze me going back to Juneau (now as a GA pilot) how it's
just like stepping back in time aviation-wise. Beavers, C-185's, and supercubs are
almost all on floats and flying continuously with loads of tourists. Something pretty
sweet hearing the rattle of the radials climbing a load of tourists up into the scud.

-Cory


--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

Newps wrote:
: You can experince the same flying by going to Idaho and Montana and get
: infinitely better weather to boot.

AK weather *seriously* depends on where you're talking about. Southeast is
generally pretty bad during the spring/summer and REALLY bad the rest of the year...
Interior is generally good in the summer, and clear in the winter... although
quite nippy.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************