Aviat Flies Dual-Fuel Airplane to Oshkosh

Dean Sigler Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Your editor spent much of his time at AirVenture 2013 in or around the Innovation Pavilion, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s nod to experimentation on a grand scale. Flanking the doors into the pavilion were two approaches to making flight more efficient, the LAM Ailerons on a Cessna Corvallis and a dual-fuel system on an Aviat A1-C Husky CNG; “CNG” standing for “compressed natural gas.” Stu Horn, President of Aviat Aircraft, is proud of the all-American nature of the airplane, most components other than avionics having their origin in this country.  Even the fuel for this proof-of-concept Husky is a domestic product, and a possible reflection of its back-country home.  Afton, Wyoming, where Aviat makes Huskies, has resurrected the Pitts Special, and continues support for the Aviat (formerly Christen) Eagle.  Afton lies within a two-hour drive of Yellowstone National Park, and closer to Salt Lake City or Pocatello, Idaho than any major city in Wyoming. Because of this, many pickups and …