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."

FMI: www.lycoming.com, www.textron.com