Under the Unleaded Avgas Transition-Advanced Rulemaking Committee (ARC)’s recommendations, it will be at least 11 years before a suitable replacement (or replacements) for 100LL is approved. Total cost could reach $73 million with $60 million having to be approved by Congress. Despite the many pitfalls outlined in the report, the authors try to strike a hopeful tone: “We are in fact very encouraged that a satisfactory solution will be deployed in a timely manner and none of us will see our aircraft or our operations significantly compromised.”
A team from Harvard University has developed a treatment for metal surfaces that will keep them free of ice and frost, according to the Harvard Gazette. The Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces (SLIPS) uses nanostructures to create an ultra-smooth, slippery surface. “This new approach to ice-phobic materials is a truly disruptive idea,” said Joanna Aizenberg, leader of the research group. “We are actively working with the refrigeration and aviation industries to bring it to market.”
