Oh Canada! Mo gas availability for cross country ferry flight?

[lockeed]

Mo gas availability for cross country ferry flight in Canada?

Planning a ferry flight later this summer where I'll be taking my newly purchased plane back home to Quebec from the Calgary area.

Lacking experience in that department so I'm calling on fellow pilots to get some insight on mo gas availability across the country. (Rotax 912)

Planning to take the southern route through Medecine Hat, Brandon, Winnipeg, Dryden, get close to Thunder Bay before heading up north east towards Marathon and then Timmins or Rouyn...

Any info or tips is more than welcomed. Mo gas avail., airport with things to eat on site, hotels close by, tie downs or free hangar spaces... things of that nature.

I plan for 2-4hrs legs in the morning, and another 2-4 hrs later in the afternoon each day.

Thx!

 

[KaiGywer]

Would it be cheaper to drop down into the US and do your cross country there? Just throwing an idea out there since I think our gas prices are generally lower.

 

[Jimmy cooper]

You need to read a bout the 912 ROTAX. Av gas will not hurt it if you follow the rules. I'd fly it home on av gas, stopping along the way at muskoka lakes airport which is really well equipped. ( see Rans clan forum re. Av gas)

 

[Geico266]

You need to read a bout the 912 ROTAX. Av gas will not hurt it if you follow the rules. I'd fly it home on av gas, stopping along the way at muskoka lakes airport which is really well equipped. ( see Rans clan forum re. Av gas)

I agree cross country using 100ll is fine, but a steady diet of it is not good no matter what the book says.

 

[lockeed]

I initially thought that 100LL should always be considered as a last resort for the Rotax 912... (Never owned one). But the more I read the more I hear about guys using it almost exclusively or very often without any significant downside apart from the 25hr oil change.

Some suggest additive... some don't. Who's right, who's not...

But I start to think that it might be smater to fly a safe route on 100LL rather than to try and find mogas, especially when there's no real way for me to know if it's clean and of good quality, etanol free etc....

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

I initially thought that 100LL should always be considered as a last resort for the Rotax 912... (Never owned one). But the more I read the more I hear about guys using it almost exclusively or very often without any significant downside apart from the 25hr oil change.

Some suggest additive... some don't. Who's right, who's not...

But I start to think that it might be smater to fly a safe route on 100LL rather than to try and find mogas, especially when there's no real way for me to know if it's clean and of good quality, etanol free etc....

More frequent oil changes, don't use fully synthetic oils, more frequent gear box inspections. But it burns OK. Ethanol may or may not be an issue depending on your fuel tank / fuel line materials. I run E-10 with no problems, but some have had problems with fuel lines.

 

[lockeed]

Any details on fuel line type and tank materials that might be problematic with 100LL?? And what produces it?

 

[Geico266]

Any details on fuel line type and tank materials that might be problematic with 100LL?? And what produces it?

The fuel system is not the problem, it will handle 100ll just fine. Its the lead build up in a VERY close tolerance engine. As one who has had to replace parts damaged by lead build up (no matter how much you change the oil) I can tell you that the Rotax 912 does not like lots of lead in its diet. Specifically, the sprag clutch (for starting) gets clogged up with lead deposits and will stretch the springs. Once the springs are stretched it will not start properly. The clutch is $2K and requires an engine tear down basically.

Going CC use 100ll, but DO NOT use it ever day. The owners that do are just fooling themselves. Trust me, I KNOW!

 

[Brad Z]

The fuel system is not the problem, it will handle 100ll just fine. Its the lead build up in a VERY close tolerance engine. As one who has had to replace parts damaged by lead build up (no matter how much you change the oil) I can tell you that the Rotax 912 does not like lots of lead in its diet. Specifically, the sprag clutch (for starting) gets clogged up with lead deposits and will stretch the springs. Once the springs are stretched it will not start properly. The clutch is $2K and requires an engine tear down basically.

Going CC use 100ll, but DO NOT use it ever day. The owners that do are just fooling themselves. Trust me, I KNOW!

He could always use 100LL and TCP: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/alcortcp.php

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Any details on fuel line type and tank materials that might be problematic with 100LL?? And what produces it?

100LL isn't the issue with fuel lines / systems - Gasoline with ethanol is.
"Aviation" grade (Don't recall the spec number at the moment) fuel have been known to swell shut enough to cause an engine failure on takeoff (happened to a friend of mine). Automotive spec fuel lines are OK with E-10 as is your Rotax.

 

[lockeed]

Huh?? fuel have been known to swell shut enough to cause an engine failure on takeoff. Can you eleborate on this, not sure I follow?

 

[Jimmy cooper]

Easy to look up the negative effects of auto gas with ethynol in many aircraft, outboards, etc. and the use of av gas in a 912 ROTAX. You should be aware of this! Do you know an AP? Ask him.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Huh?? fuel have been known to swell shut enough to cause an engine failure on takeoff. Can you eleborate on this, not sure I follow?

A buddy running E-10 in a kitfox had an engine out on takeoff. Looking into it, he found the that the AN spec fuel lines had swelled up internally and were not able to deliver sufficient fuel to keep the engine running at high power levels.
He replaced them with SAE spec lines.