We are looking at using E85 from two different sides. Going from gas to E85 is less efficient, yes, but with the potential for higher output if the engine is set up for it. But going from glow fuel to E85 is more efficient and more convenient for me. I have never been able to find straight methanol when I want it, so an E85 pump being two miles down the road is very interesting to me. That said, I may have found a source of methanol near me, a go-kart track is about four miles from my model field. They might have nitro, and even synthetic oil to mix in methanol too. Oh one thing I found is that Horizon Hobby carries Morgan brand Synthetic 2-Stroke oil for $7.49 a quart. So any hobby shop with a Horizon account can get that oil with no hazardous shipping charges. Note that they sell three different kinds of 2-stroke oil, and the other two are for gassers using gasoline/oil mix.
I met a guy last week that gets the same mileage on E85 as on gasoline in his new Ford F150 truck, 15mpg. I asked him if he was sure and he said yes, and that the truck seemed to advance the ignition timing to 8 degrees BTC, as the book says it should be 2 degrees BTC. (He has a computer interface for the ECU). He says everyone told him not to get an FFV because his mileage on E85 would be lousy, so he is very surprised to see the same mileage. Now the F150 is not the most efficient machine on gas, so maybe it's more efficient on E85 than the average FFV. He said the dealer threw in the FFV feature in at no charge to him, I guess the dealer needed to move an FFV that day, but that the difference was $500 normally.
I just tried my first E85/glow fuel mix on glow in a glow engine and am pleased with my initial results. I mixed E85 and 15/16 Powermaster glow fuel at 2:1 then added 7% more castor oil for 12% total oil, and ran it in the ASP 108 with a K&B Idle Bar glow plug. I got a nice smooth two cycle at top end, and a pretty decent idle, at least 40 seconds of idle before roughness. The only thing I noticed is that on quick acceleration it would cool and die, slightly slower acceleration would work ok. With the glow igniter on, transition was perfect at fast acceleration, idle was slightly smoother, top end slightly faster. I noticed that it drew less current at mid range and top end, 3amps, than at idle, 4amps. My conclusion so far is that this mix would work just fine for sport flying with on-board glow on the first 1/3 of throttle, or perhaps with a hotter glow plug. I used to have on-board glow on several planes, mainly for easier starting since inverted engines are a pain to connect a glow igniter. How does the K&B plug rank on the hot-cold scale? Is there a $3 glow plug that is hotter?