Education The Heart Of The Show

With the way the show has turned into such a commercial extravaganza, the roots and original purpose of the fly-in can be easy to overlook. However, the educational and safety training component of AirVenture is as strong as ever, with hundreds of forums and numerous hands-on training opportunities available just by signing up, or finding a seat. Among the issues that has threatened a significant segment of GA pilots is the addition of ethanol to automotive fuels to stretch them and cut emissions. However, aircraft engines should never touch the stuff and not all states require that gas pumps indicate the presence of ethanol in the fuel. In time for Oshkosh, EAA has introduced a simple and inexpensive kit that will detect ethanol in gasoline. Fortunately, some basic properties of gasoline, ethanol and water make the alcohol easy to detect. Water and fuel are mixed in a graduated test tube and allowed to settle. If there’s ethanol in the fuel, more water will be created by the mixing action and the levels in EAA’s test tube will not only alert the aircraft owner to the presence of ethanol, it will also show the percentage. The $15 kit is available now (920-426-4843 or e-mail [email protected].) and will also be on sale at the show.