The FAA recently formed an aviation rulemaking committee to provide recommendations to further the development and deployment of an unleaded avgas with the least impact on the existing piston-engine aircraft fleet. The Unleaded Avgas Transition Aviation Rulemaking Committee (UAT-ARC) will be a collaborative industry-government task force that will bring together key stakeholders representing aircraft and engine manufacturers, fuel producers and distributors, operator groups, aviation associations, the FAA and the EPA to develop a comprehensive avgas program.
“The FAA has an essential role to play in assessing and approving any potential replacement unleaded fuel,” said Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). “The formation of this group is a critically important step in moving forward with identifying and prioritizing specific tasks necessary to resolve the issues related to the transition to an unleaded avgas for our industry and finding the best solution for the piston aviation community.”
This action responds to recommendations of the General Aviation (GA) Avgas Coalition which includes the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the American Petroleum Institute (API), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA).
“Last fall, the GA Avgas Coalition called on the FAA to take a leadership role in the industry efforts to develop and deploy an unleaded avgas,” said Bunce. “The formation of the UAT-ARC shows that the FAA is stepping up in this role and should give owners and operators added confidence that the industry is on the right path to a solution.”
GAMA members that manufacture airplanes and piston engines will serve key roles on the UAT-ARC and provide recommendations to address issues regarding the assessment and qualification of potentially viable replacement fuels and the transition to an unleaded avgas, Bunce added.
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…100LL IS/CAN BE TRANSLATED TO MEAN: WILL NOT PRE-DETONATE/KNOCK IN ANY ENGINE, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, AS DEFINED UNDER A.S.T.M. ‘AVIATION METHOD’ OCTANE RATING PROCEDURE/METHOD…PITY THE MANUFACTURER/TRANSPORTER/PURVEYOR OF A FUEL WHICH, AT FAA TEAR-DOWN, IS FOUND TO BE A FACTOR IN THE ENGINE DESTRUCTION/ACCIDENT/FATALITY…ALSO, NOTE THE INFLUENCE OF DECREASED AVIATION FUEL TAX CONTRIBUTION TO THE TRUST FUND, RESULTING IN FUND SHORT-FALL, PROOF OF, ONCE AGAIN, THE BURDEN OF TAX BEING PLACED ON GENERAL AVIATION (GA)…THE STATISTICS PROVE IT IS TIME FOR “AIRLINE” CONTRIBUTORS TO (FINALLY) PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE, WITH A 5 CENTS PER GALLON (TO BEGIN WITH) ON JET FUEL…G.A. IN THIS COUNTRY, AS OTHERS, IS BEING SUFFOCATED BY/THROUGH THE COST OF FUEL…MFM
Considering that more than 70% of TC’d aircraft and 99+% of LSA can already fly on the approved unleaded aviation fuel, auto gasoline without ethanol, one would think that the new committee would be just as concerned about the rapid disappearance of mogas in an ethanol haze … but apparently they are not. Wonder when that aviation alphabets and the FAA are going to wake up to the economic damage to GA presented by the unintended consequences of the federal RFS mandate in EISA 2007, which ironically is not a mandatory E10 law.
When will the FAA form a committee to protect the other approved fuel for piston-engine airplanes, 91+ octane unleaded, ethanol-free fuel? While they continue looking for the mythical drop-in replacement for 100LL for the 30 (and declining) percent of airplanes that need an 100 octane fuel, what about the rest of the fleet, and all of the new LSAs who run better & cheaper on Mogas?