Aviation associations, FAA pledge continued support of development of unleaded avgas

“We need to collaborate to identify and test fuels; work with supply chain companies like refiners, distributors, and transportation businesses; and also address state issues,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “There are several of the nation’s 5,000 public-use airports that may soon face a real hurdle in getting the current fuel. People and governments want to shut off the supply of 100LL—today. That’s what we mean by urgent.”

“We need to find a way to address this issue for the entire GA fleet—warbirds, experimental, everyone,” said Bunce. “We don’t have the capacity to have multiple fuel options on the field.”

“With just one manufacturer of lead left, located in Britain, at some point leaded fuel will be unavailable and we as an industry need to get in front of that and do something about it,” said Pelton.

The panelists and audience also took the opportunity to recognize and congratulate George Braly and General Aviation Modifications Inc. (GAMI), which announced earlier in the day that it had received two supplemental type certificates authorizing the use of its G100UL high-octane unleaded avgas. AOPA, EAA, and GAMA also released a joint statement in support of GAMI’s STCs, but stressed that further evaluation and testing is needed to determine the fuel’s full potential and what it has to offer the general aviation community.

“We’ve been doing STCs for alternative fuels for a rather long time,” Lawrence added. “We’ve always supported the development of an unleaded fuel, but our focus is on safety and there is a lot to deal with when a fuel is proposed. This is not just a chemistry issue.”

Several audience questions addressed timing and when GA pilots and aircraft owners may see an unleaded fuel option on the field.

“We are committed as individuals and associations to get past this issue as soon as we can,” Baker stated. “If this was easy, it would have been done already.”