THE RETURN OF ANTI-DETONATION WATER INJECTION (ADI)

The only reason leaded avgas still exists is to deliver high octane cheaply and the only reason for octane is to prevent detonation in high-power, high-compression engines. But octane isn't the only way to quench detonation, something engineers have known for years.

Injecting a water-methanol spray into the combustion chamber—so-called anti-detonation or anti-detonant injection (ADI)—was once a common technique for military aircraft when octane wasn't available or when aircraft designers wanted excess power in bursts, even when burning high-octane fuel. It was also used in civil transport applications.

If it worked 60 years ago, why not now? That's exactly what Air Plains is proposing in its resurrection of ADI STCs developed by Todd Petersen during the 1980s, when mogas as an alternative fuel was in vogue. But just as mogas fell out of favor, a victim of a shrinking cost difference between it and avgas and a flood of ethanol in the fuel stream, so too did Petersen's ADI fade. It never found wide market application. But like Petersen's hundreds of mogas approvals, the STCs remained alive.

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CORROSION TREATMENTS: WELL WORTH THE TROUBLE

While there is evidence CorrosionX provides the best protection, ACF-50 also works well. Get it applied by a pro, however, or you'll be cleaning it up for months.

Corrosion is like aging; it does its damage slowly and is easy to overlook—until major systems begin to fail. Unlike aging, we know how to stop corrosion in aircraft. It's cheap insurance against a slow destruction of your airframe.

The downside is a cleaning up your airplane for at least a few weeks, and possibly several months. You also might discover corrosion damage that would have passed unnoticed for years and now appears as loose rivets and joints. We're not sure revealing lurking damage is a downside, however. We'd rather stop the spread and know the full extent of any degradation here and now.

This is where owners of fiberglass aircraft get to turn to the next article with a smug expression on their faces. The rest of us who fly aluminum birds should read on.

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PODCAST: GROUP OFFERS FLYING CLUB SCHOLARSHIP
A new organization called Ground Effect Advisors is awarding a scholarship that includes advice, materials, and supplies worth more than $3,500 to a group that wants to start a flying club. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Todd McClamroch about the initiative and how worthy groups should apply to StartAFlyingClub.com by May 1.

This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: SCRAPING THE RUST OFF WITH GLASS
In a moment of sheer lunacy, resident blogger Paul Bertorelli decided to renew his instrument currency, both in a Redbird sim and an actual airplane. (Imagine that.) On the AVweb Insider blog, he offers some observations on how an old-school guy flies a glass panel and whether it makes any difference if you're scanning a PFD or traditional steam gauges. Read more and join the conversation. More...

BRAINTEASERS QUIZ #180: REGULATION OSCURA
Before flight, every pilot must plow through a spaghetti bog of regulations designed to enhance safety by potentially scaring the flyer to stay on the ground. But you won't scare easily once you ace this quiz.

Take the quiz. More...

VIDEO: PARDO'S PUSH -- MCDONNELL F4 PHANTOM
"Pardo's push" of March 10, 1967 was preceded by a similar event. In 1952, fighter ace Robbie Risner pushed fellow flyer Joe Logan 60 miles. The two men were flying F-86 Sabre jets and successfully cleared hostile territory, but Logan bailed out over water, was tangled in his canopy lines, and drowned. Risner was deemed a hero, but by Pardo's account, pilots were not encouraged to partake in similar activities. More...

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

The AVwebFlash team is:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

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Russ Niles

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Scott Simmons

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Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

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