AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2023 - 8

PRESIDENT 'S POSITION
License to travel
Ensuring you'll have the fuel to get there
BY MARK BAKER / President and CEO
AOPA Foundation Legacy Society member
YOU'L L SEE IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE that we're focusing on
destinations-the wonderful places your pilot's certificate gives
you the license to visit and enjoy. There's nothing like traveling
across this great country by air, giving us freedom and access
to cities and towns, large and small, mountains and lakes, and
everything in between.
Of course, we're all planners, and flying to those destinations-near
and far-is much more than hopping into the car,
turning the key (or pushing the button these days), and you're
off. We plan and check everything, making sure all is in proper
order before we rotate.
Checklists, weather, notams, regulations, performance
charts-there is so much more to aviation than meets the eye
of most observers.
The first thing many of us do (I know I do!) is to check
the fuel. Do we have enough to get to our destination with the
proper reserves? Is the fuel free of water and contaminants? Do
we know our options on the other end? These are questions we
ask ourselves before every single flight.
Some questions that are becoming more common-ones
I'm hearing a lot-are quite troubling: Will there be fuel at my
destination? More specifically, will there be fuel that's safe
for my airplane?
For years, we've taken fuel for granted. We're just a truck
away from being topped off. It's not a thought or worry-a phone
call to the FBO or a trip to self-serve, and we're good to go. Really
no different than fueling up our car.
But imagine a scenario in which it's not that easy. A scenario in
which there is a real worry about getting that fuel. Imagine a time
when what we need to fly safely is simply not there.
Unfortunately, that story is being moved out of the fiction
section, in areas such as Santa Clara County in California. You've
all seen the headline: " 100LL Banned at Reid-Hillview. " Other cities
are trying to take similar-and equally shortsighted-action.
Aircraft grounded, pilots turned away and needing to fly elsewhere
for their fuel, and maybe flirting with just a bit too little fuel to
make it there. It's not just a nightmare scenario, it's fact.
While flying around this great country and seeing our
members where they live and fly, that is still the question I hear
8
AOPA PILOT / March 2023
most: " Will I be able to get fuel, as I hear airports are banning
what I need? " Members read in our pages and on our website
that some airport sponsors are playing politics by banning
100LL before we're able to safely and smartly transition to the
unleaded solution that works for the entire GA piston fleet-
more than 200,000 aircraft.
The good news is that this transition is happening. We're
making real progress. We have one fuel, GAMI's G100UL, that
has received supplemental type certificate approval for the vast
majority of the piston fleet, another from Swift that is expected
to gain STC approval this year, and two that are progressing well
in the FAA's PAFI (Piston Aviation Fuel Initiative) program, all
with a keen watchful eye from the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline
Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative, for which I serve as co-chair.
We don't back just one specific fuel, but we'll back any manufacturer
that can help us reach our goal. And the more the
better. More fuels on the market means more competition,
which means better pricing for pilots.
With that progress, some other questions have been asked:
" Haven't we solved this? Don't we have the fuel now? "
The answer is, sort of. Yes, we have an FAA-approved higheroctane
unleaded fuel for the vast majority of the piston fleet, but
it is now incumbent upon GAMI, or any future FAA approved
100-octane unleaded fuel manufacturer, to commercialize its fuel
with engine manufacturers, refiners, distributors, FBOs, and all
that entails. This includes producing to scale, having it efficiently
and safely transported to airports across the country, and storing
it at airports. That's a lot of work, but efforts are underway.
I have often said that this is the most important issue we've
faced in my time leading AOPA. What I can pledge to you is that
we are working every day to cut through the bureaucracy and red
tape to get this done safely and as quickly as possible.
To be honest, this has taken longer than anyone could have
anticipated, but AOPA will not rest until there is an unleaded fuel
waiting for you at your home
airport and along your way to
America's amazing destinations.
Blue skies!
mark@aopa.org
AOPA President MARK
BAKER has flown GA aircraft
to destinations across the
United States-and around
the world.
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2023

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