AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2022 - 89

ALTERNAT I VE FUELS /
Fuel for all
Unleaded avgas progress report
BY PAUL MILLNER
THE ABILITY TO create an unleaded avgas
that meets the needs of the entire general
aviation fleet has been vexing the industry
for decades. There has been recent progress,
but challenges remain.
In an effort to continue progress, the
FAA hosted an industry roundtable discussion
on unleaded avgas on November
15 in Washington, D.C. AOPA attended,
as did a cross section of oil companies,
independent unleaded avgas developers,
Textron Aviation, a smattering of
independent experts, and other trade
associations representing airport operators,
FBOs, and manufacturers.
The roundtable attendees are working
to tackle one of the toughest issues facing
general aviation: the removal of lead
from avgas. Recent developments seem
promising, but in many ways they-combined
with heightened environmental
concerns-have also led to confusion and
angst for aircraft owners.
From the beginning of the effort to
develop an unleaded avgas, AOPA has
held the position that the only acceptable
solution is one that meets the needs of the
entire fleet of 200,000 aircraft.
With FAA approval of General
Aviation Modifications Inc.'s (GAMI's)
100-octane unleaded avgas for a small
number of engines and airframes this
past July, pressure on both the EPA and
the FAA to address lead phaseout has
increased. At the meeting, the FAA estimated
the EPA/FAA process to ban leaded
gasoline would take four to six years.
However, at the National Association of
Clean Air Agencies meeting in October,
the EPA said it's refocusing on an endangerment
finding, a significant milepost
in the process to ban lead. European
regulators are also moving toward banning
tetraethyl lead imports, now that the
sole manufacturer, in England, is outside
of the European Union. TEL is the octaneboosting
component that contains lead.
However, several airport operators are not
waiting. Regulators and airport operators
in a handful of mostly Western states have
begun moving toward banning the sale of
leaded avgas, even though a 100-octane
unleaded fuel is not yet available.
While some pilots like to argue that
the amount of lead emitted by general
aviation is tiny, any amount of lead is a
problem.
The EPA has been very effective over
the past 40 years in moving industry to
reduce lead from automotive fuel. Avgas
emissions have gone down as well (with
the transition from 100/130 to 100LL).
However, avgas-related lead emissions
remain an issue.
Moreover, there's a security of supply
issue. The last leaded mogas (motor gasoline,
designed for automobiles) blender
in the world earlier this year converted
to unleaded fuel. That leaves aviation's
small demand (avgas is about one-tenth
of one percent of U.S. mogas production,
and even less in the rest of the world) to
support the sole remaining Octel TEL
plant in Liverpool, England. The lead
plant's owner emerged from bankruptcy
a few years back. But environmental pressures
on that plant continue, bringing into
question the long-term feasibility of its
business plan. At the moment, though,
Octel claims it will provide TEL for avgas
blenders as long as there is demand.
These continuing threats require
action on the part of the FAA, the aviation
industry, and aircraft owners. The recent
FAA roundtable meeting was another step
in that process.
At the meeting, it became clear that
the term " fleetwide solution, " which is
now commonly used, is causing confusion.
Many understand that GAMI and Swift
Fuels are on track to provide a fleetwide
solution, as both claim that their 100UL
fuels will, at some point, be FAA-approved
for every aircraft and engine in the pistonengine
fleet. However, both are pursuing
their approvals by getting supplemental
type certificates (STCs) for each combination
of airframe and engine, which is not
how the transition to an unleaded fuel was
North American 100LL avgas
sources
Chevron-Pascagoula,
Mississippi
Chevron-Richmond,
California
Exxon-Baton Rouge,
Louisiana
Exxon-Edmonton, Alberta
Flint Hills-Rosemount,
Minnesota
Phillips-Borger, Texas
Phillips-Sweeny, Texas
Avgas is imported into the
New York harbor area from
Europe, typically from Shell
or BP's European refineries.
Hawaii is supplied by an
ocean-going barge.
AOPA PILOT / February 2022
89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2022

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