Tim_Lewis(at)msm.umr.edu
Guest
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 Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 6:01 pm Post subject: Autogas for 540 (IO-540) |
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> I've never owned a plane with an auto-gas STC. How do you refuel the
> plane? I wouldn't image the wings would fit under the canopy of an
> Exxon station.
I use 93 octane in my RV-6A (O-360, 8.5/1 compression). I use one tank
for avgas only, the other for auto gas and/or avgas. To fuel at the
airport I use five gallon metal fuel cans with the spring loaded "safety
nozzle." Manassas airport requires these nozzles for those of us who
fuel our plans from fuel cans. Grounding wires and conductive funnels
are also required at Manassas.
I've been able to force the RV-6A to vapor lock on autogas, but it
hasn't been a problem unless I set out to overheat the fuel (hot day,
fly hard, land hot, long taxi, then try immediate takeoff). I have had
the autogas ice up on me twice during winter flights. I think it
happened because I had a Fram G3 paper fuel filter between the fuel tank
and the fuel selector. I've spoken to a couple of experts in the field,
who tell me the paper filters are susceptible to freezing if there's any
water in the fuel. I'm replacing the Fram G3s with the Purolator Pro
806, which uses a nylon filter.
IO-540 and auto gas: I spent quite a while talking to Dan from Airflow
Performance (the folks who make the fuel pump that Van sells for IO-540
powered RV-10s) about autogas in the Bendix injection system. Dan used
to be Bendix's project engineer on the Bendix RS and RSA fuel injection
systems (that's the one on the IO-540). Don told me there's no
materials compatability problem with using auto gas in the Bendix
system, but you don't want to leave autogas sitting in the servo for a
long time because when auto gas evaporates it'll leave "varnish"
deposits. Dan said many people use auto gas in the Bendix injected
engines, but he pointed out that vapor lock is a concern when using auto
gas in an injected engine.
I talked to Mr Petersen of the famous Petersen STC about injected
engines and auto gas. He told me he'd never been able to get an
injected installation to pass all the vapor lock tests, thus the lack of
any Petersen STCs for the IO-XXX engines.
I plan to try auto gas in my RV-10 (IO-540). To try to head off vapor
lock issues I'll have no gascolator, fire sleeved fuel lines with lines
kept as short as possible, and probably blast cooling of the engine
driven fuel pump. And careful flight testing over an airport with one
tank full of good old av ga$.
Tim
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Tim Lewis -- HEF (Manassas, VA)
RV-6A N47TD -- 830 hrs
RV-10 #40059 under construction
Conti, Rick wrote:
[quote]
I've never owned a plane with an auto-gas STC. How do you refuel the
plane? I wouldn't image the wings would fit under the canopy of an
Exxon station.
Thank You
Rick Conti
Senior Engineering Manager
The Boeing Company
office: 703 - 414 - 6141
blackberry: 571 - 215 - 6134
--
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