Hi Jonathan,
I have 1,090 hours on my Europa XS mono with a 912S engine. Initially,
for convenience at my local airport, I used 100LL but for many years now
I have been using standard US autogas labelled as 93 octane E10. When I
am traveling, I simply top up with 100LL until I get back to home base.
Some observations :-
* The engine starts OK from cold with full choke on either fuel.
* As the engine warms up, I can bleed off the choke much quicker with
100LL than with autogas. When the engine has warmed up, there is no
perceptible difference in operation or power.
* When starting the engine from hot, the engine will fire much quicker
with 100LL. With autogas, there may be a tendency for vapour lock or
it may be over rich from evaporation - in any event, it may be
necessary to cycle the throttle to open and closed before the engine
fires.
* US automobile 93 octane fuel is usually grade E10, meaning it can
contain up to 10% alcohol.
* Rotax service instruction SI-912i-001r3 states that E10 fuel is
approved..
* It is very obvious that when using 100LL, the oil is much dirtier
and the oil and filter should be changed every 25 hours.
* In 1,090 hours of operation with both fuels, I have never seen any
evidence of water in 100LL or 93 autogas.
Cheers, John
N262WF
Mooresville, North Carolina
/Subject: Europa-List: Question for United States friends regarding E10
fuel From: "JonathanMilbank" //<jdmilbank@yahoo.co.uk>////
/
/I'll get straight to my question which is "Does anyone in the United
States experience problems in Europa aircraft fitted with Rotax 912
engines when using E10 gasoline purchased from filling stations?"
Several weeks ago I posed this question to European pilots and got 2
replies indicating that they don't have problems using E10, which we are
about to have introduced in the UK in September. //
/
/When I first addressed this question the Europeans, I was unaware that
E10 has been used in the USA for a few years. I only discovered this
today, when I stumbled across a video entitled "Is Ethanol Bad For Your
Car's Engine?" by one of my favorite automotive engineering experts.
//https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATGSBi1kBl0////
/
/Of course wear isn't the perceived risk factor for aircraft engines;
it's water, carburettor icing, vaporisation and phase separation which
are the causes of concern. These aspects weren't covered deeply in the
video, which wasn't concerned with aircraft. Several contributions were
elicited on the forum when I last raised the topic, so I'm not seeking
replies from outside North America, thanks. of course wear isn't the
perceived risk factor for aircraft engines; it's water, carburettor
icing and phase separation which are the causes of concern. /
|