Originally Posted by
Bill Van Steenwyk
All the info I can give you is from my own personal experience, and this experience is some 30 years old now, as it took place in the late '70's and early to mid '80's, except for one instance a couple of years ago. I used it in a Yamato 80 that my wife raced 10-12 times a year for 5 years plus the normal testing done at a race. The type was leaded 100 octane.
That being said, I do not believe that av gas has changed that much in the intervening years, except for the fact that some grades now are either NOT leaded, or have a very small amount compared to years ago. They achieve the no-knock ability with other additives instead of lead. Also you will find no ethanol in Av gas, which is a plus. Ethanol will attract moisture right out of the atmosphere and that is a bad deal for gas used in airplanes, as temp goes down as altitude increases, and the danger of the water in fuel freezing and blocking fuel lines is a real no-no when you are not on dry land.
The comment about Av gas being "dry" came originally, if not mistaken, for the fact it (some grades) contained no lead and burned "dry" meaning that since it had no lead, it was hard on valves, as one of the reasons for lead was to lubricate the valve seats. I burned it one time for several months in a '50's model car and burned the valves.
Since a two stroke has no valves, and if you use a good oil (I used a degummed castor oil called Blendzoll) I would not be afraid to use it. Many of the OPC guys that run SST140, Champ Boat, and other classes with two strokes have used it for years, probably with regular OMC or Merc oil.
As far as availability, I would think you would want to stay away from large airports with commercial flights and use the smaller strips that service mostly private aircraft. A perfect source could be a crop duster strip. I know of no law prohibiting (I could be wrong) the sale of Av gas to individuals, but I do see some comments on here from time to time where some have had difficulty purchasing at larger airports because of rules prohibiting dispensing of Av gas except into aircraft. That probably would not be an issue at a smaller facility. I filled my bass boat at a small local airport several years ago until I found a suitable source for non-ethanol laced fuel because of problems with it in marine use. Expensive but available.
Hope that helps.
Bookmarks