Advanced Protection for Modern Turbine Engines

The Evolution of Crop Dusting: AeroShell Turbine Engine Oil 560

Duration: 5:20

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Footage of Aerial footage of Steve’s farm in Tallulah, Louisiana

[Interview with AeroShell Aerobatic Pilot Steve Gustafson]

My father was an extraordinary man, he was one of those types of people who could do just about anything. Master welder, superb aviator, flew everything there was, could do pretty much anything and uh so I had a lot to live up to.

I flew with him, he taught me, he solo’d me in the T6 that I fly with Aeroshell when I was a junior in high school and he taught me the advanced Aerobatics in the T6. Really, he didn’t teach me how to fly solo but once I had solo’d and done he grabbed me later on and told me “alright now I am gonna teach you how to really do it”.

We were the North American Aerobatic Team for 12 years, but we all had jobs so we couldn’t really commit full time to flying 20 events a year. I mean do that, and have a job and feed your family and all that so we were flying about 10 or 12. When Aeroshell came on board, it just snow balled and we went from a 3-ship to a 4-ship. And I am really just blown away when we go to Oshkosh, the people the line goes out the door and around the corner. I think to myself how did I get here?

I first started crop dusting when I was 20 years old. Crop dusting, aerial application has been in my family since the 1930’s, so we are 3rd generation of crop dusting. My dad crop dusted for 24 years, I’ve been doing it 38 years and my son has been doing it 5. So it’s not going anywhere and it’s been in the family a long time and I’m really proud of that.

My dad, I was working on the farm and we were at that age where we really butted heads so I saw I said, “you know I don’t know if he did that on purpose? Maybe so? I don’t know but I saw right quick I said it’s time to become my own man. So I went and fly for my uncle and got out from under my dads wing and it started from there.

…And I can say this “the very first time I ever dove into a field to spray it, I said to myself “literally I said to myself” I cannot believe somebody’s going to pay me to do this, I can’t believe it!

I started off crop dusting in a Pawnee, and then I went to an Ag Cat which is a bi-plane, radial, piston engine and then I went to the turbine airplane Ag Cat, and then now to the Air Tractors. And uh – I saw the evolution of crop dusting from the beginning, it’s just evolved like everything else with GPS and technology and flow controls, it’s absolutely amazing. Now we have air conditioning, and the airplanes are so much more reliable now. It’s an art. It’s truly an art. You and the airplane are one and you are there to do a job and do it as best you can. It’s just the satisfaction of when you get done with that, you know if you have done a good job or not… you know. When you pull out of the field you left, that the farmer is totally satisfied and I can feel good that I did it correctly.

I had used Aeroshell my entire life before they ever became sponsors. On all of our ag planes, I have been using it forever. So I knew it was a proven product. Aeroshell is hands down the best because I have seen the extremes of everything. I have put engines to the test. I flew with piston engines, reciprocating engines for 20,000 hours, 20,000 hours worth of flying of those and when I went to turbine engines, went to turbine engines there wasn’t any question I was putting Shell in there. I mean 560, that’s the way to go. We put em’ through the paces, we’ll do 40-50 take offs and landing a day. We are not like a jet that takes off and goes and flies for 7 hours and lands. 40-50 take offs, high power, low power. I mean you are really expecting a lot out of your engine, and uh the 560 the turbine oil I just am really not concerned about it. That takes the worry away from that and I always look down, I check my monitors and my gauges constantly when I am flying. My oil temps and my pressures are always right where they should be, so that’s peace of mind…. And I like flying with peace of mind…. Especially the older I get!

Correndon Airlines AeroShell Turbine Oil 560 Testimonial

AeroShell Turbine Engine Oil 560. Reliable performance for confident operations. This video is a customer testimonial by Corendon Airlines regarding their usage of ASTO 560 for their fleet.

Correndon Airlines AeroShell Turbine Oil 560 Testimonial.

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Footage of a busy airport in Turkey with planes preparing to taxi.

[Interview with Oguzhan Horasanli, Deputy Engineering Manager, Powerplant Systems of Corendon Airlines]

We started in 2005, with just two aeroplanes and nowadays we are operating with ten aeroplanes in our fleet. We are concentrated on the European market. We have flight operations to European countries. Small but steady, good steps upwards.

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More footage of planes moving in the runway, airline operations of Corendon airlines, back office operations and engine footage

[Interview with Oguzhan Horasanli, Deputy Engineering Manager, Powerplant Systems of Corendon Airlines]

If you review the airline company’s financial balance sheets, the maintenance costs of the engines are always the most cost-driven item. We track almost all parameters. The most critical parts of an engine are the ball bearings and they are oil-induced parts. The inside-temperature of an aircraft engine is almost 1,000 degrees Celsius, so it’s really important to see the results of your oil performing.

We have been using ASTO 560 oil for more than four years. We used another brand in the past. Our guys showed us some technical specification figures, and we noticed that ASTO 560 has better features in almost all areas. Therefore we decided to give it a try. Since it is an approved oil and it is mixable with other brands, you just add the oil to the system. You don’t need to flush or clean the system or replace the filters. You just top up, so it’s an easy and cost-effective solution.

During this timeframe, we have performed some repairs. We disassembled the engine to piece-part level and we are able to see all the individual parts. It’s normal to see some coking and the condition of the oil-induced parts were quite clean. Our MROs also confirmed that.

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More footage of engine parts and how clean the components are.

[Interview with Oguzhan Horasanli, Deputy Engineering Manager, Powerplant Systems of Corendon Airlines]

ASTO 560 doesn’t affect any seals, degradation on the seals. It’s normal to see some leakage and some evaporation. You can compare the figures with other companies. Almost all the oils in the market have around 3% evaporation loss, but ASTO 560 has 2%. When we compare some other companies, we are consuming almost 10 to 15% less than the others.

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Headquarters of Corendon Airlines in Turkey as well as activities being done by their staff

[Interview with Ridvan Helvaci, Engineering Manager of Corendon Airlines]

Very optimistic, the relationship. Both companies showed great cooperation during the business. Shell is a big brand and it gives comfort to work with them.

[Interview with Roxana Mihai, Account Manager - Lubricants, CEE, RU and TR at Shell Aviation]

What makes the difference between Shell and competitors is actually their presence in the field. Being close to customers, knowing their needs. You need to create and build the relationship.

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ASTO 560 Boxes, Corendon staff and Shell team at Corendon Airlines’ office.

[Interview with Oguzhan Horasanli, Deputy Engineering Manager, Powerplant Systems of Corendon Airlines]

We believe that it’s win-win. We are sharing our knowledge and experience with Shell and they are supporting us, so we believe that it is a good partnership between us. 

[Interview with Ridvan Helvaci, Engineering Manager of Corendon Airlines]

Eight years is a long time for the Corendon Airlines history. I believe the partnership will grow.

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Corendon Airlines’ plane taking off and flying to the sky

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AeroShell Turbine Engine Oil 560

www.AeroShell.com

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