Ben Visser

1 week ago | generalaviationnews.com | Ben Visser

Back when I was still working for Shell Oil, I attended a number of state aviation maintenance symposiums every year. Most of the symposiums would have social functions in the evenings. And that’s when many of us would get together and start telling war stories about our latest legal cases. I would usually relate Shell’s case about grease in a helicopter rotor bearing.

1 month ago | generalaviationnews.com | Ben Visser

In late 2024, I wrote a column on steps to take to reduce rust and corrosion for an aircraft engine that was not flown very often. Since then, I’ve received inquiries from readers about preserving or “pickling” aircraft engines that are off the wing waiting for an airframe restoration or for a kit-built aircraft to be completed. The best recommendation is the process the military developed for shipping replacement engines during World War II.

2 months ago | generalaviationnews.com | Ben Visser

There is an old adage that success has hundreds of parents, but failure is an orphan. We see that when we look at the history of leaded fuels. When I started at Shell Oil in 1967, my first project was to optimize the lead and scavenger levels in auto fuels. I started by reading most of the technical reports in the company library. I was surprised to find that there was a long list of metals that worked as anti-knock additives.

Mar 24, 2025 | generalaviationnews.com | Ben Visser

Recently I received an email from a pilot who watched a video on YouTube comparing the performance of several different oils, including ones for aviation, automobiles, diesel engines, motorcycles, and boats. The aviation oil included in the many different tests was Phillips 66 X/C 20W-50 Multiviscosity Aircraft Engine Oil. The conclusion of the YouTuber’s testing was that the Phillips aviation oil performed very poorly in the detergency and anti-wear tests.

Mar 7, 2025 | generalaviationnews.com | Ben Visser

Whenever an article on unleaded 100 octane avgas is published, a few of the same questions always come up. For instance, many readers will comment that automobiles switched from leaded fuels to unleaded fuels with no major problems, so why can’t that be done with avgas? Well, they didn’t really solve the problem, it just sort of went away. When I started at Shell in 1967, emission controls on automobiles were just starting in California and went nationwide in 1968.