“Aviation Lubricants: Getting the Best Life Out of Your Engine and Aircraft” Hangar Flying Session

“Aviation Lubricants: Getting the Best Life Out of Your Engine and Aircraft”

Benton Visser, retired petroleum engineer, Shell Oil Company

Having an engineer’s perspective on petroleum products and their application in aviation is a luxury for us this year. Ben has recently retired, but remains one of the world’s leading experts on petroleum products in aviation. He will discuss what oils to use and when to change it. He will share his thoughts on how to properly operate your aircraft with the goal of getting the maximum life out of your engine. He will further grease the skids (couldn’t resist) by describing various greases and which product goes where. Lastly, he will describe proper fuel handling procedures, what to do in case of an accident and then provide his best guess on what future aviation gasoline might look like.

Ben Visser was born in SD and graduated with a BS degree in Mechanical engineering from the SD School of Mines in 1967. He worked for Shell Oil Co from 1967 until 2000 in the Research and Development Lab. The last 18 years of that time was spent in the aviation fuels and lubricants field. He is a private pilot and holds the world’s record for fuel economy in a passenger car.