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avgas issue

YYC650

Member
There is an issue with avgas shipped from the Esso Edmonton refinery after December 28. It is apparently "quarantined". I suspect that we put about 8 hours on our 7a with that fuel before the press release, and didn't have any issues.

CALGARY, Feb. 15, 2018 /CNW/ - Imperial has notified regulators and customers of a potential fuel quality issue in aviation gasoline (sometimes referred to as "avgas" or "100 low lead") shipped from Strathcona refinery since Dec. 28, 2017.

All shipments of the avgas from Strathcona refinery were promptly stopped as soon as the company became aware of the issue on Feb. 13, 2018. Imperial has also requested that all distributors cease distribution of the product.

At this time, Imperial is not aware of any reported safety issues related to the fuel. Aircraft that use jet fuel, also known in the industry as "Jet A," are not impacted by this potential fuel quality concern.

"We regret this inconvenience and will continue to provide information as the situation evolves," said Jon Wetmore, Vice-President Imperial Downstream. "An investigation into the cause of the issue is ongoing."

SOURCE Imperial Oil Limited​

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/imperial-notifies-transport-canada-of-potential-aviation-fuel-quality-issue-674206763.html

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2018/february/15/canada-airports-report-avgas-shortage

We use a GRT fuel flow sensor which uses a turbine for our fuel measurements, as opposed to a capacitive fuel gauge, so I don't imagine that there is any issue with the accuracy of the fuel readings in our case.

Is there any safety or legal reason why we couldn't continue to use the fuel already in the tanks, that came from this batch?

Scott
 
Scott - I won't pretend or claim to be a petrochemicals expert, so please bear with my inexpert observations.

1) the fuel is said to not meet the conductivity spec - our airport manager reported today that the fuel distributor has tested our 100LL suppy which, by date of manufacture, is quarantined. The fuel passes the conductivity spec, but the manufacturer and distributor have not issued an OK to resume dispensing the fuel.

2) our Glasair Sportsman has recently completed flying off it's initial 25 hour test phase - all of the fuel it burned was sourced at our airport, and likely half or more of those hours where flown using the fuel which is now quarantined

3) I have seen no measurable difference in performance across the test period, irrespective of fuel being used

4) our aircraft has mechanical float fuel gauges so I can't provide any feedback on the effects of the fuel on more complex fuel quantity sensing equipment

5) our aircraft is equipped with a "Red Cube" fuel flow transducer. While I would consider having now only about 30 hours on the airplane that we are still in "calibration mode", I can report that our most recent fill-up of 15.1 gallons from the pump was a close match for the 15.2 gallons the fuel totalizer indicated we should have needed to fill the tanks. We've been consistently within 3% on every fill-up so far, so I think our sensor calibration is reasonably good and reasonably consistent. The current batch of quarantined 100LL just doesn't seen to have an effect on the fuel flow sensor performance, or at least none that I can see.

Today we flew to Lindsay, an airport 130NM distant, for lunch and butter tarts. When we arrived it was clear the airports around Toronto were feeling the pinch as there were several airplanes from the Toronto area lined up at the pumps at this smaller, more rural airport where they had not taken delivery of any of the quarantined fuel.
 
Same here

I?ve put 40 hours on a new 7 with this fuel in the tanks. No issues whatsoever. I?ve got the standard van?s float level sensors so no issues there and the red cube fuel flow has been spot on.

I guess it could be a problem for the capacitive fuel sensors.
 
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