Sir;
I work for a company in the US which provides fixed wing aircraft support for wildland fire suppresion. We are in the process of transitioning from reciprocating engine aircraft , fueled with aviation gasoline, to a turbine powered aircraft. The microbial problem does not exist in gasoline, so we are facing a new problem.
As you have probably gathered, present methods of combating this problem center around chemical addittives and maintenance actions, also you probably noted that the problem becomes significantly more severe when aircraft spend time in storage status.
As we do not operate our aircraft outside of fire season, and even in fire season we spend significant amounts of time parked waiting for a fire call, we are facing a little different problem than most air carrier aircraft operators. So all of the present practices appear to have some disadvantages for us.
Bottom line is we do not know whether we have a big problem or not, but we surely are interested in anything that can minimize a potential problem.
We will have some peple in Australia in Jan 2011 for simulator training and would appreciate the chance of finding out a little more of what your client may have to offer.
Jim Pape
146 Project Pilot
Minden Air Corp.
2311 P-51 Court
Minden NV 89423
956-342-4871