You may go to the airframes or engines lists to see if your airplane type has been tested and if an STC is available to you. Two STC’s are always necessary, one for the engine and another for the airframe.
PRICE LIST
91 octane STC Click Here to Order
91 octane STC (except PA-28-160, -161, -180, -181) = $2.00 per horsepower
PA-28-160, -161, -180, -181 12/14 Volt = $2750.00
PA-28 24/28 Volt = $3850.00
Cessna 210 fuel vapor return STC = $3650.00
87 octane STC Click Here to Order
$1.50 per horsepower
If you are not sure if your engine is 87 octane or 91 octane, Click Here.
Phone, email, or click here to place a secure order for your STC. Traditional mail works too and we do accept personal checks.
We will need the name of the registered owner, the engine and airframe serial and model numbers and the aircraft registration number to process orders. We also need your telephone number, physical address, postal code, and of course your email address.
Click here to place a secure order for an STC
OTHER ITEMS:
Replacement Airframe Placards - $12.50 per pair
Replacement Engine Placards - $10.00 each
Updating STC paperwork - 87 octane engines - $.75 cents per hp if STC was purchased within the past 20 years.
*If the STC was purchased more than 20 years ago, the cost to update is $1.50 per hp
Updating STC paperwork - 91 octane engines - $1.00 per hp if STC was purchased within the past 20 years.
*If the STC was purchased more than 20 years ago, the cost to update is $2.00 per hp
Prices outside the U.S. may vary.
Alcohol Tester - $15.00
We include a description of how to test for alcohol along with each STC. It is a simple test and you can easily make your own tester. See directions below. However, we also offer a reusable alcohol tester for $15.00.
Testing fuel for ethanol
The following test can be performed to determine the presence of ethanol in gasoline.
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1. On a test tube or olive bottle, make a permanent line about two inches from the bottom.
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2. Fill with water to this line, then fill the tube to the top with gasoline.
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3. Cover the tube, agitate it then let it stand.
Ethanol mixes with water and the two will separate out together. Therefore, after mixing the water and the gasoline, if the water level appears to have increased, then the fuel contains ethanol and should not be used.
Ethanol fuels can damage the rubber and aluminum components of your aircraft fuel system. Ethanol increases the volatility of fuel, and hence the possibility of vapor lock also increases. Ethanol may vent off at altitude, reducing both range and octane. For these reasons fuel containing ethanol must never be used in airplanes.
Hodges Volatility Tester - $65.00
An important consideration when using auto fuel in aircraft concerns vapor pressure or volatility. The fact that approved engines operate quite well on auto fuel is not in dispute. But given the right set of circumstances any airplane can vapor lock and it can happen on avgas too though it is not as likely. Until the Hodges tester was developed the only method of determining a fuel's vapor lock potential was to send a sample of fuel to a laboratory along with a substantial fee and wait patiently for six weeks to receive the results. This is of course totally impractical if you need to know right away.
Thanks to Dr. Ray Hodges of Australia, a simple fail-safe portable tester is available. The Hodges Fuel Volatility Tester is small enough to be carried in the airplane and will tell you at a glance whether or not the fuel has any serious vapor lock potential, given the current outside air temperature. It immediately tells you if the fuel could cause vapor lock, regardless of contributing factors such as, temperature, altitude, seasonal blend, weathering history, or blends with avgas or ethanol. The operation of the tester is fail safe since air leaks cause low ("unsafe") readings.
This tester has become standard equipment for many people who use auto fuel and desire a preflight safety check of the fuel. Operating the tester is quick and simple and it is reusable. A sample of fuel is drawn into the syringe; the syringe is then coupled to the gage and the plunger is drawn down. This creates a vacuum in the syringe, the fuel boils, evaporates, and a reading is obtained on the gage which indicates whether the fuel is "safe or unsafe". Complete instructions are, of course, included with the tester.
The Hodges Volatility Tester gives an on-the-spot answer to the question - "could the fuel cause vapor lock?" If the fuel has weathered to a lower Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) than normal, the equipment accounts for the current vapor pressure, and registers a "safe or unsafe" result dependent only on the current value. This capacity to read current value gives the pilot the option of blending fuels until a safe reading is obtained, or of delaying the flight until a cooler part of the day when a "safe" reading can be obtained.
The volatility tester does not give octane ratings, nor does it specifically give you RVP. However, a chart is available at your request that can be used to extrapolate RVP to within 1 psi. RVP by itself means nothing. The tester is designed to give a "go-no go" indication which is really the most useful way to evaluate the fuel for vapor lock potential. Furthermore, samples for testing must be fresh, since any sample collected in an open jar or blends tested that are not properly mixed won't give a true result.
Highly recommended for any low wing pump fed airplane, and for all homebuilts, the Hodges Volatility Tester sells for $65.00 (shipping included).
