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It Came, It Saw, It Concorde
"Delta wing with the long nose on the
downwind, rock your wings." Captain Max Robinson and his crew landed a British
Airways supersonic Concorde at AirVenture Oshkosh at 1224 Friday. They were about an hour
later than their scheduled arrival because of delays leaving JFK. EAA President Tom
Poberezny, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, and a huge AirVenture crowd welcomed the
airplane to the West Ramp. As in past years, several planeloads of folks were willing to
part with a furkin of shillings (actually $715 USD) for a "local" ride on the
ship. When it's not flying, it's on display at the West Ramp showcase area.
NOTE: AVweb's OSH '98 coverage includes additional
details and photos of the Concorde's arrival at OSH, plus a 4-minute RealAudio clip of the
arrival ceremony.
Concerns Over Fuel Contamination Continue
Phillips Petroleum officials got a hot
reception at an EAA forum on the future of avgas on Friday morning. An estimated 250
people filled the Forum 3 tent, and many came to vent their frustrations over the
condition of Phillips avgas purchased from Basler Flight Service this week. The problem
appears to be affecting more than just the warbirds.
Yesterday, EAA warbirds officials called off the warbird portion of the daily airshow
when it was believed that a number of aircraft had been fueled with avgas contaminated
with jet fuel. Samples from three T-28s and two refueling trucks were collected and sent
for analysis at the Wisconsin Bureau of Petroleum Services in Fond du Lac, Wi. The lab
tested for the presence of heavier distillate compounds, such as kerosene, jet fuel or
diesel, and can detect the presence of as low as 1/2% kerosene in a sample of avgas. Rick
Riley, an engineer with Phillips, reported that all samples tested within ASTM
specifications. When asked, he said that the Fond du Lac lab did not have the capability
to test the octane level of the samples.
Pilots Provide Samples That Don't Feel, Look, Or Smell "Right"
This report did nothing to mollify many, if not
most, of the pilots present, many of whom brought fuel samples with them to the forum.
Several reported that fuel taken from their tanks felt, smelled and looked wrong. AVweb
staff sampled two examples of suspect fuel, one from a Saratoga, the other from a T-28.
Both samples smelled "wrong" with a hint of kerosene, felt like fuel
contaminated with kerosene, and one sample was definitely clear, the other very light
blue, far lighter than normal.
A pilot from Michigan demanded that Basler drain her aircraft's tanks and replace it
with acceptable fuel. She indicated that she had contacted legal counsel in the matter.
Another pilot said that his aircraft was being de-fueled, and fueled with fresh avgas, at
his expense.
Basler Sends A Line-person, Nobody From Management
The sole representative at the meeting
from Basler Flight Service was a line-fueler and did not have the authority to speak for
the company. Basler's failure to send anyone from management only served to raise the ire
of most present.
Mike Wagner of Phillips told the crowd that Phillips had dispatched a company jet,
which was expected to land at Wittman Regional Airport shortly after 11 a.m. today, and
was to ferry additional samples of fuel to a lab in Borger, Tex. for more extensive
testing. The results of those tests are expected by tomorrow, and EAA officials present
said that a special forum would be scheduled for Saturday afternoon. When pressed, Wagner
admitted, "I think it feels a little different…yeah."
None of the officials at the forum were able to tell the crowd why the fuel smelled and
felt different. Riley insisted that smell, appearance and feel should alert a pilot to
check further on the condition of fuel in the aircraft, but aren't reliable indicators as
to fuel quality. He said that avgas contaminated with 1% jet fuel shouldn't cause a
problem for a piston engine GA aircraft, but that a contamination of 5% or more could
cause detonation, with higher compression engines affected by relatively lower
contamination levels than those designed for 80 octane avgas. Jet fuel contamination
causes detonation problems for piston engines by lowering the effective octane level of
the fuel. Riley said that a pilot suspicious of jet fuel contamination can perform a
run-up at full power. If the cylinder head temperature rises sharply with no increase in
EGT, then jet fuel contamination is a real possibility. Such a ground run-up would not
damage an engine. For those without engine gauges, the problem would manifest itself by a
significant power RPM reduction.
Phillips Not Yet Willing To Sign Off
When pressed by pilots to sign a
letter that would say that there was nothing wrong with the fuel, Phillips declined and
the Basler rep was not in a position to do so. The Basler line-person noted that the jet
and avgas fuel farms were at opposite ends of the field and the possibility of an error
was remote given this segregation. After the discussion inside the forum tent was
concluded, another heated argument occurred between a small number of pilots and the
Phillips reps just outside the tent.
Cessna Says It Is Over The Hump
Single Engine Problems Over—Production Rates Up
Cessna Vice Chairman Gary Hay seemed
upbeat Friday morning as he reported that business is very good, and that the growing
demand for GA airplanes seems to be benefiting Cessna more than others. Hay noted,
"to be completely candid, some of our early units were not up to our standard of
quality and service bulletins were...too many." Hay added that the problems had been
corrected and the quality of Cessna singles coming off the line "is now right where
it ought to be." Productions rates are up and waits for delivery of 172s and 182s are
down.
While Cessna Pilot Center Programs Are Ready For Prime Time
Cessna VP-Marketing Phil Michel provided an update
on Cessna's complete makeover of their Cessna Pilot Center flight school program and
introduced Cessna's new Computer Based Instruction private pilot groundschool program,
developed by King Schools. With Martha King manning the computer keyboard and mouse,
Michel walked the group through a few lessons from the CBI course. The course material was
clearly developed with a lot of cleverness and humor. "We've only just begun the
process of introducing this new program to Cessna Pilot Centers around the country, but
their reaction and the reaction of the new students has been just fantastic," said
Michel.
NOTE:
AVweb's OSH '98 coverage includes a large article
on Cessna with lots of additional details and a glimpse into Cessna's single-engine
future, along with photos of the first delivery of a Cessna 172-SP.
Unison and Lycoming Team Up
Unison Industries and Textron-Lycoming jointly announced today at
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh that the two companies are developing a new electronic engine
control system for piston aircraft engines. The system, called Electronic Propulsion
Integrated Control or EPiC, will increase power, improve fuel economy and reduce pilot
workload according to Uinson President Rick Sontag at a joint news conference.
EPiC provides "single lever" power control for throttle, prop, mixture and
turbo boost, controlled by a microprocessor-based system. The system will incorporate an
electonic multi-port fuel injection system, electronic prop control and electronic
wastegate control. Unison and Lycoming officials said that they are looking for a 10% to
20% increase in fuel economy and 20% power increase.
Mechanical Backup And Pilot Selectable Modes
EPiC will rely on
independent mechanical controls as backup. Electronic fuel and ignition controls are
backed up by magnetos and a mechanical fuel controller. The prop and wastegate would
revert to a non-electronic fixed position backup mode. The prop will revert to minimum
pitch, maximum RPM. Sontag called the manual reversion fuel controller "not a
limp-home system" and a cockpit switch will allow choice of "best power, best
economy, and manual." It will be possible for a pilot to fly the system continuously
in manual mode using a small mixture lever on the control quadrant.
The system will not require an STC. Instead it will be certificated as an integral part
of the engine under its type certificate. It will be available as a factory option on new
Lycoming engines. Sontag said "the cost and weight should be virtually the same"
as today's mechanical engine systems.
Jim Koerner, president of Lycoming said that the companies hope to have EPiC on the
market by the year 2000. Initial flight test will be conducted in a Cessna 182R, with FAA
certification expected by the end of 1999.
Textron Lycoming and Detroit Diesel In Aero-Diesel Effort
Textron Lycoming and Detroit Diesel Corp. announced this
morning at AirVenture a joint effort to develop an aero-diesel engine. The two companies
will share responsibility for design, development, certification and manufacture of the
engines, if performance, reliability and market benchmarks are met.
Lycoming has been studying the feasibility of Diesel engines for aircraft for a number
of years. According to Jim Koerner, president of Lycoming , both companies believe that an
aero-diesel engine project makes sense today. Lack of availability of aviation gasoline in
some parts of the world, and the increased fuel economy of diesels are cited as strong
selling points for the project.
Like the Teledyne Continental Motors Diesel project, the Lycoming/Detroit Diesel engine
will study a 200 hp turbocharged model. Lycoming has a prototype engine running in a test
cell in Williamsport, Pa. No timeline for development and certification has been
established. Lycoming and Detroit Diesel will jointly make a decision to produce the
engine after completing technical and market research, but they claim to be proceeding
with full production as a goal.
 AVweb's OSH '98 communications radios
provided courtesy of ICOM America. |
There is a reasonably well-known annex to EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh which relatively few people take the time to visit — the seaplane
base. As a result, it is a refuge, a place of sanity away from the frenetic pace of the
main venue on Wittman Regional Airport. Even the approach for someone coming by bus or car
from the main part of the event is pleasant, a stroll down a wooded lane. Rick Durden
takes us on a brief tour of this oasis of sanity where a few dozen seaplanes have circled
the bay in Lake Winnebago, lined up with the wind, hushed down final and slid onto the
water, taxing to the small, triangular inlet where the others of their kind are moored.
Walter Atkinson compares this air show and aviation get-together to a wonderful meal.
Every wonderful meal starts with extensive preparation and that's exactly what has
occurred at EAA AirVenture with regards the forums and hands-on workshops. They are a
smorgasbord for those hungry for a safer, better, and more pleasant flying experience.
Join Walt as he considers why these forums are so valuable and so well attended, year
after year.
A couple of dozen new photos (and snappy
captions) reflecting the eclectic diversity that characterizes EAA AirVenture at
Oshkosh. From the Concorde to ultralights, from people to Port-A-Potties, from asphalt to
Lake Winnebago, here's the pick of today's photo crop.
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