Lycoming Shares Expertise on Future of Aviation Fuel with
Customers
Can you believe that nearly a decade
and a half has passed since Lycoming first approved an unleaded
fuel for use in its engines? That little tidbit caught me by
surprise... but now the company is planning to sharing its
expertise on alternative fuels in a series of programs to educate
the GA community on the issues manufacturers face in designing the
products of the future.
The programs started earlier this month at Aero Friedrichshafen
2009 when Michael Kraft, vice president of research, design and
engineering, presented the program "Lycoming Engines' Perspective
of the Piston Aviation Fuel Supply." He also served on a panel
discussion sponsored and organized by the German Aviation Writers
Association titled "Aircraft propulsion today and tomorrow: Current
global economic and safety opportunities and challenges in GA."
In addition, Randy Jenson, director of Lycoming's Advanced
Solutions Center, gave a similarly themed presentation this month
at the 34th Annual Federal Aviation Administration Forecast
Conference in Washington, D.C., during a breakout session on light
piston aircraft.
Lycoming will host an additional program on alternative fuels at
EAA Airventure 2009, scheduled for July 27 through August 2
in Oshkosh, Wisc.
"As we design new products that customers want to buy, we think
it's important for customers to be educated about the issues we
face as manufacturers," Kraft says. "Explaining to customers the
benefits and drawbacks of potential fuel alternatives will help
them make more informed decisions about where to spend their
money."
Lycoming first approved an unleaded fuel, AVGAS 91/96 UL, for
more than 30 engine models in 1995. The colorless unleaded fuel is
a trade name fuel produced by Hjelmco Oil Inc. of Sollentuna,
Sweden, and is stated by the company to conform to ASTM D910
specifications except for the lead content and colorant.
Specification of Hjelmco AVGAS 91/96 UL (or any other brand / trade
name) does not constitute a commercial endorsement by Lycoming. For
information on engine models approved for use with this fuel, log
on to www.lycoming.comand
find Service Instruction 1070p under the "Support" tab.
"The voice of our customers is the driving force behind
everything we do at Lycoming," says Ian Walsh, senior vice
president and general manager. "We think the best way to learn what
customers want is to start a dialogue with them that is based on
facts."