I am considering buying an aircraft in the next couple of years.
Due to the shortage of AVGAS in the Balkans and the east part of the Mediteraneean I was thinking about a MOGAS compatible one (like a Tecnam 2006t, the new Pipistrel Panthera, CTLS, etc).
For european trips is it a good ideea? Or MOGAS is non-existent on any of the airports that all of you visited?
Thank you for your feed-back!
Mogas is indeed not available (in the sense of: officially available for sale, “commercially”, from a pump) in most of Europe. About the only countries that have such infrastucture are Germany, Austria and, to a certain degree, Italy and Spain.
In some places you may find someone (or a club) which has an (illegal?) tank in the back of the hangar, but of course, this information is usually not published and one can’t really rely on these sources when touring. In many other places, epsecially in the ultralight scene, it is common to get the fuel from a nearby fuel station using jerrycans. This however is only half feasible if your aircraft burns less than 20 litres an hour.
Ethanol is another problem.
Most mogas airplanes can take avgas so there is no problem on international travel.
One brave gentleman keeps up maps of Germany and Austria indicating availability of various fuels. Unfortunately neither seems to be really up to date so you certainly need to verify the information.
There are quite some fields where MoGas can be had, there and elsewhere, unfortunately this availability is often not organised and, hence, not known or made known formally. If you want to have everything planned and organised before you depart, life will not be easy. If you are ready to take the adventure, and are not in a hurry, take some plastic jerrycans along; at most fields you will someone who will drive to a fuel station with you. That is, if anybody is around; small fields often are deserted except in the weekend.
I think your best bet would be a Lycoming or Continental certified for MoGas. A Rotax 4-stroker (912/912S/914, don’t know about the new 912i) could also serve, but if mostly flown on Avgas it will require more maintenance, and it is not really recommended.
Lastly, do not forget UL91 – it is not a major commercial success, yet there are some fields that offer it.
plastic jerrycans along;
I’ve been stopped from filling red jerrycans – I had to paint them green. I use metal ones.You might need a folding trolley to carry them through Security – I’ve to park about 0.7km from where I refuel. I use avgas at away airfields – Continental O 200.
For myself I use metal jerrycans too, painted military-like khaki-green, to bring my MoGas to the field. But they are quite some weight to carry in the plane, plus they are rather bulky, that’s why I suggested plastic ones for carrying along. OTOH security should not be an issue at the grass runways typical for a MoGas burner.
What’s the (percieved) significance of the colour of the jerrycans?
Thank you for your very competent and very fast replies.
In Romania 100LL is 3.6 EUR / liter, therefore a JET A engine would be the best option, but as discussed on other threads there is no viable one available yet (except Austro 300).
In some places you may find someone (or a club) which has an (illegal?) tank in the back of the hangar, but of course, this information is usually not published and one can’t really rely on these sources when touring
I don’t see why not. A minimum of planning and a few telephone calls, and you will get fuel anywhere. If the plane runs on Mogas, it will also run on AVGAS, so there is no problem in any case.
