Pix of our new fuel truck

I used to own a Black 1995 T100 xcab 4x4 with all the options except
automatic. I'm still sorry I sold it. The only problem I ever had was
with the starter. The solenoid contacts would wear unevenly and had to
be replaced every year. Hopefully your starter has been updated to a
newer design. Good luck with it.
Dave


Jay Honeck wrote:

The Green Grape is born!

http://www.alexisparkinn.com/new_mighty_grape.htm
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Good job Jay. You always seem to find the cool ways to get stuff done....

Jon

Jay Honeck wrote:
The Green Grape is born!

http://www.alexisparkinn.com/new_mighty_grape.htm
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Steve Foley wrote:



I think there are permit issues if you want to transport over 50 gallons.
Besides, I doubt he empties the tanks every time. I nkow I don't.



I don't empty mine, but most of the time I return home with more than 45
gallons less than I left home with. That means for most trips a trip to
the gas station to be able to fill up what I burned off. Jay's plane is
a PA28-235, which has IIRC the same 84 gallons capacity my six has
distributed in four tanks. I think his burns about 12.5 GPH, so 4 hours
of flying will use up a full load of the grape.

Jay wrote :
Anyone who doesn't build their own Mighty Grape is just flushing $100
bills down the toilet, IMHO. It's really not that hard to do, and
(if
you shop around) you get a nice truck to drive in the bargain.

Gee, Jay. Remarks like that make me feel so much better about having
to fuel with 100LL. My Cherokee 180 even has the expensive (dual pump)
autofuel STC. The problem is that I'd have to drive about 50 miles out
of town to find autogas that's unadulterated with ethanol (EPA required
in our metro area). I used to fuel my old 172 with autogas from a 30
gal. drum and a hand pump. Not fun, but I discovered the savings right
away. I currently own a '99 Nissan Frontier and a couple of years ago
I was a few weeks short of buying a transfer tank, when I heard the
news that ethanol would be here to stay. You Iowans should consider
yourselves lucky that you aren't forced to buy polluted fuel.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)


--
JGalban
Posted at www.flight.org

Jay Honeck wrote:

Jay, Ni
Clearly you must earn a lot more than I do, Ray! $55 per trip to the
airport (which, as Montblack stated, is less than 1 mile away) is worth
every moment spent messing around with it. (Actually, bringing the
truck to the hangar is MUCH easier than bringing the plane to the
self-serve pumps...)

Heck, I used to refuel Atlas from 6-gallon jerry cans, and I thought
*that* was worth it. Fueling from the Grape is simply heaven compared
to THAT nightmare.

Our average flight is a bit less than an hour each way, or between 1.5
- 2.0 hours 'round trip. This translates into from 22 to 30 gallons of
gas, so we get roughly two flights per trip to the gas station,
sometimes more, sometimes less.

Since we usually fly twice a week, we're saving (at least) $2860 per
year in fuel costs -- AND we're feeding Atlas a fuel that he is much
happier burning. It's a win-win all the way around. (Actually, right
now the price differential is $1.71 per gallon -- so the savings just
jumped to $4891 annually....)

We have an account at the gas station and get a substantial discount
because we do volume purchasing with their company. (The station is
owned by a grocery store chain that we do a lot of business with...)
All I have to do is sign for it, and they bill me at the end of the
month. It works great.

Anyone who doesn't build their own Mighty Grape is just flushing $100
bills down the toilet, IMHO. It's really not that hard to do, and (if
you shop around) you get a nice truck to drive in the bargain.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"



Jay,

See, I'm coming from a different land here too. I can't get my own car
onto the field to load babies into the airplane, much less a truck full
of gas. If I am willing to drive 50 minutes to the airport instead of
20, I can get onto the field (closest airport that allows private
vehicle access) after jumping through all the right hoops. Yes, I do
make a good living, and my time and the hassle are worth something to
me. If my plane could use mogas (it can't, there is no STC for it, as
the min octane requirement is 96), and I could get a truck onto the
airport to refuel it, etc, then it MIGHT be worth it. Fact is, I buy
close to 60% of all my avgas away from home and I do shop around for
lowest Avgas prices, so it would take me much longer to amortize the
cost of equipment over the savings. You have an advantage of lower
fuel burn and the ability to tanker around the same volume of gas that I
can.

So, I think its great that you can make the grape work for you. There
are a lot of us out there that for a multitude of reasons doing so is
either impractical (airport access, not enough fuel taken on at home vs
total fuel used, permits), or impossible (engines 250 HP).

Jay,

Around here there is also the issue of ethanol in the auto-fuel. I
don't think there are any stations left here that sell without ethanol
(state law?). Our autogas prices are running around $2.70/ gal right
now, compared with $3.50/gal for Avgas at WST, which is where I
frequently stop to fill up. KPVD is charging I think $4.85/g now. I
know some of the local EAA members have been complaining about lack of
availability of mogas without ethanol.

You Iowans should consider
yourselves lucky that you aren't forced to buy polluted fuel.

Sorry, John -- I know many folks are stuck with that corn fuel in their
gas, and I feel especially guilty since it's my state of Iowa that is
the source for much of that crap.

I'm scared to death that our new Democrat majority (in Iowa, they now
control all three branches of government) will mandate ethanol in
everything here, too. When that happens, Mary and I will be screwed,
too.

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

See, I'm coming from a different land here too. I can't get my own car
onto the field to load babies into the airplane, much less a truck full
of gas.

That is incredibly stupid. Where do you fly from?

Heck, even at the larger airports in this area (Kansas City downtown,
Cedar Rapids, Madison, etc.) you can drive a courtesy car out to your
plane.

It's good to live where common sense still rules, I guess.

So, I think its great that you can make the grape work for you. There
are a lot of us out there that for a multitude of reasons doing so is
either impractical (airport access, not enough fuel taken on at home vs
total fuel used, permits), or impossible (engines 250 HP).

Until ethanol is everywhere (which, I fear, our new Congress will soon
be mandating), I will continue to enjoy the use of mogas in our plane.
Quite frankly (until it is impossible to use) I wouldn't consider
buying a plane that couldn't burn mogas, given the cost differential
with avgas.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination'

Jay Honeck wrote:




Quite frankly (until it is impossible to use) I wouldn't consider
buying a plane that couldn't burn mogas, given the cost differential
with avgas.




I have to use 100LL now with the Bonanza but it is so much more
efficient that I am burning 4.5 GPH less to go the same speed as the 182
I had before. I am spending a lot less on gas than before.

Jay Honeck wrote:

See, I'm coming from a different land here too. I can't get my own car
onto the field to load babies into the airplane, much less a truck full
of gas.


That is incredibly stupid. Where do you fly from?

KPVD, Providence RI. TSA shut down access to the field after 9/11.
Before that we could get on with a vehicle escort. Not only that but we
have to pay for stinkin badges, and they keep having us come in to renew
the badges, provide more credentials, take security tests, get
fingerprinted etc, etc, etc. I guess the upside is I'm reasonably
assured that some bozo isn't going to come in and mess with my plane.

If we were not so embedded in the community, I'd strongly consider
moving somewhere that a) has a lower cost of living, b) isn't so steeped
in idiotic beauracracy and c) is more centrally located so I get better
utility out of the airplane. My wife says no for now though.

As far as planes that burn mogas, well, show me one that has enough
seats for my brood that will burn mogas, and you might make a convert
out of me. Kind of a moot point here though, because pretty much
everything they sell here now is corn gas.



Heck, even at the larger airports in this area (Kansas City downtown,
Cedar Rapids, Madison, etc.) you can drive a courtesy car out to your
plane.

It's good to live where common sense still rules, I guess.


So, I think its great that you can make the grape work for you. There
are a lot of us out there that for a multitude of reasons doing so is
either impractical (airport access, not enough fuel taken on at home vs
total fuel used, permits), or impossible (engines 250 HP).


Until ethanol is everywhere (which, I fear, our new Congress will soon
be mandating), I will continue to enjoy the use of mogas in our plane.
Quite frankly (until it is impossible to use) I wouldn't consider
buying a plane that couldn't burn mogas, given the cost differential
with avgas.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination'