In February, a group of general aviation industry stakeholders from the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative—representing manufacturers, aeronautical service providers, air carriers, and aircraft owners and pilots—visited Alaska to better understand the importance of piston-engine aircraft to remote communities and the intricacies of an unleaded fuel transition in such a vast state.
The FAA is standing up for 100LL. The agency posted a notice in the Federal Register regarding several changes to airport grant assurances, including the addition of Grant Assurance 40, which mandates the availability of 100LL fuel through 2030 or a possible earlier date when an FAA-authorized unleaded replacement fuel becomes available.
A government-industry coalition seeking to accelerate the arrival of a safe unleaded fuel suitable for all aircraft urged owners to report their unleaded fuel experience to the FAA.
Before I took the helm as AOPA president this year, and as an active pilot, I was well aware of ongoing efforts to transition to 100-octane unleaded avgas.
The FAA agreed with AOPA's argument that the unleaded aviation fuels currently available are not ready to fully displace avgas in a much-anticipated March 24 decision with a clear message for all federally obligated airports.
A California judge took a skeptical view of the key argument that unleaded piston aviation fuel is "commercially available" in a preliminary ruling that would preserve avgas availability at nearly two dozen California airports.
In the second installment of a three-part series, learn how the FAA’s Fleet Authorization Process is paving the way for the approval of unleaded avgas.
Before I took the helm as AOPA president just a few weeks ago, and as an active pilot, I was well aware of ongoing efforts to transition to 100-octane unleaded avgas. Given the importance of this transition and some confusion among pilots, I firmly believe in the need to be both transparent and factual.