AVGAS - US attack?

[AN2 Driver]

Several issues with regards of Avgas and what will come once that one is gone.

Even today, availability of Avgas is a huge issue in most of Europe. In Southern Europe, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and others, most customs airports cater for jets and jets only and have either no Avgas or at astronomical prices. Outside Europe, lack of Avgas makes trips South almost impossible.

Then comes the illusion that Automotive fuels will be better available. They would be if the regulators would ALLOW them to be used, which is not the case. What is Mogas today is again a specialized Aviation fuel available only on a very small share of airports. It's not what is sold at the gas station but some other mix. Of course that has to do with the fact that at least European regulators do not WANT piston GA in their future concepts at all. So they will fight any and all initiatives to make this kind of fuel available at airports or if so then at artificially higher pricing.

Personally I think that Jet A1 is the only way forward for today's Lycoming or Continental customers for several reasons.

First of all, there are commercially available and approved engines around. Centurion (frmr Thielert), Austroengine and SMA. Retrofitting has been done with the Thielert engines and if it had not been for that companies bancruptcy, would have continued on a large scale. This phase will pass however and I fully expect that as well Thielert as well as Austroengine will start to come online with STC's for most popular airframes. Current engines exist at 135 and 155 hp in production (2.0/2.0s) and have STC's for Cessnas 172, PA28 and Robins at this stage. A 350 hp Centurion 4 is in final development. Austroengine have the 170 hp AE300 which is running on DA40's and 42's. SMA have a 230 hp engine STC'd to the Cessna 182 Q and R.

So we do have Jet A1 burning piston engines at 135, 155, 170, 230 and 350 hp available now. The Centurion 2.0 is the prime replacement candidate for the O-320 and 300 series, the SMA and the Austroengine for the O360/IO360 series and the Centurion 4 for the larger models.

There is few doubt in my mind that this will be one way out of the Avgas problem. However, STC's are needed fast to give owners time to change over at the next approaching TBO. I had hoped that when my O360 in my Mooney would need a TBO I could possibly even then go for a diesel conversion but due to the Thielert bancruptcy and the fall out from that, development on the Diesel front have been thrown back 5 years or so. Nevertheless, most of the current 4 seater cells and even some twins would be good candidates for this.

Looking at the data, those engines burn between 5 and 7 GPH of Jet A1 in normal power regimes. This will increase range and economy dramatically over current Avgas engines. Plus of course, Jet A1 is available nearly everywhere .

What GA does NOT need is a new special use fuel which will a) be regulated and taxed to death by the authorities and b) has no better availability than Avgas has even today. Somehow I do not see Southern Europe, Africa or Asia stocking yet a renewed fuel for these planes they do not want anyhow on their airports and which were easy to keep away by banning Avgas and Mogas sales. Jet A1 however is available everywhere and it will be very hard for airports not to sell it to visiting GA planes.

What we need are diesel engines to directly replace any Lyco/Contisaurus around and the STC's to go with them. Once that is done and these engines are available in sufficient numbers and in states of development which allow a comparable reliability (TBO 2000 hours +, no recurring inspection/replacement intervals like at Centurion) e.t.c. then I think the original surge will restart fairly fast.

If I were in Lycomings and Continentals place, that is what I'd bet my money on. Develop direct Jet A1 replacements which plug in place of the existing engines and be done with it.