Any time I write about 100LL avgas, readers remind me that ethanol-free mogas could meet their needs, if only somebody would make it available at their airport.
Where commenters see an obstacle, I see an opportunity.
I guess it just depends on your perspective.
If you’d like to burn mogas in your airplane, but it isn’t available at your airport, why don’t you be the one to make it available at your airport?
I believe it is possible to do. And while the checklist will likely be long, it will also be finite.
A few items pop into my head right from the start:
- Find other aircraft owners on your airport who would also like to use mogas.
- Find a tank or truck to use. Don’t buy anything yet, just find it. I’d be willing to bet there are both new and used options.
- Find the local mogas distributor and ask for tips, tricks, or suggestions.
- Talk with the airport owner or sponsor.
- Research state, county, and local regulations and codes.
- Talk with the local fire marshal.
If you think you can’t self-fuel with mogas at your grant-obligated airport, think again.
“The sponsor of a federally obligated airport must permit airport aeronautical users, including air carriers, the right to self-service and to use any of the airport’s Fixed-Base Operators (FBOs),” states the FAA’s Airport Compliance Manual – Order 5190.6C – Airports.
“The right to self-service” includes, but is not limited to, “maintenance, repair, and self-fueling.”
Of course, it isn’t as easy as buying the aforementioned tank and calling a fuel distributor.
While it may seem a daunting task, years ago, Cirrus Aircraft Co-Founder Alan Klapmeier explained aircraft certification to me in a way that stuck. As I remember it, his point was that certification involves satisfying requirements throughout a process. Complete that work and certification follows. Certification is not subject to a final subjective call, it is the culmination of a completed and finite list of tasks.
A fuel partnership or co-op or club or (insert organizational structure here) deserves that same practical examination.
What else may be required beyond my short, top-of-the-mind, list? If you know, let me know so I can share it with our readers.
Just like the variety of ways a flying club can be organized, there are likely multiple ways to work together to pump mogas into your airplane at your home airport.
Caveat: I’m thinking of personal use in this example. Mogas that I and others in this thought exercise can use. Not sell to others.
Making mogas available for sale is a different chapter, but likely part of the same book.
If you’ve already done the work it takes to make mogas (or any aviation fuel) available for your own use at your airport, I’d like to hear from you. We can share what made you successful with others looking to do something similar.
Mogas could be available at your airport. And you could be the one to make it happen.
Gas. Since the government mandated the change without the proper technology, I would prefer they reimburse all those who have invested in finding a solution and give them not less than a 100% profit. Since AI is so smart, let the US Government find the solution, than I would be happy to put it in my tank.
Thanks, Ben, for reminder your readers that Mogas (AKI 91 lead-free, ethanol-free gasoline) has been a legal, safe, affordable aviation fuel since the Wright Brothers used it in their first powered aircraft. I performed a study of the entire FAA registry some 10 years ago, doing a correlation against all the Mogas STCs and TCs (Rotax, ULPower, Jabiru, etc.) and found that 70%-80% of all legacy piston aircraft could run just fine on mogas. In most cases, the STC was little more than a placard and a small fee to the companies (EAA or Peterson) who did the hard work to convince the (reluctant) FAA that mogas was a great fuel for aircraft. Good luck though in convincing the major Avgas / Jet-A fuelers to carry it. When I helped airports get Mogas onto their fields a decade ago, several reported that their Avgas suppliers either (a) lied, and tried to convince them that Mogas was illegal, or (b) threatened to stop supplying Avgas and Jet-A if the airport sold Mogas. So, what do owners of Mogas-burning aircraft do? That’s the easy part – they use pure-gas.org to find their nearest supplier of ethanol-free, 91 AKI gasoline, and they self-fuel. In my state of North Carolina, airport owners who do this can submit their receipts to the Department of Revenue and get a full reimbursement of state fuel taxes, which in NC are substantial. The airport of course ends up with no taxes from aviation fuel sales for those who self-fuel with Mogas. Note that nearly all newer manufacturers of piston engines design them to operate on Mogas. They can often tolerate E10, but recommend against it, since E10 has less energy per gallon and has all kinds of longevity and corrosions issues. pure-gas.org currently lists nearly 18,000 (WOW!) sellers of ethanol-free fuel, so there is plenty out there. Since ethanol and ethanol blends are not permitted to be pumped through fuel pipelines, by definition, all gasoline at fuel terminals is ethanol-free. There it is blended (ruined) with ethanol before being sold to the ignorant masses, thanks to the EISA 2007 law that forced this terrible stuff on us all.
A couple of airports in the area have heard us. 7G8, Geauga County Ohio Airport, listened to the Rotax guys and have 93 octane mogas with ethanol available. Nearby 62D, Warren, has ethanol free unleaded mogas available for the Continental guys with auto fuel STC’s. Both have credit card readers and 100LL.
If you’re in northeast Ohio stop by.
Most airports use an airport services agreement to cover standard operating practices for on-field businesses. FBO’s are covered under these agreements and usually lay out requirements for FBO’s. Airports that receive grants must allow any FBO that wants to set up on the field, but they can set standards for an FBO. Many times, these standards require an FBO to provide more than just fueling and can include mandating other services such as maintenance and flight training. This means, you can’t just set up a fuel truck and distribute fuel unless you meet all the requirements of being an FBO.
The other big issue I would see is liability. Are you filtering and testing the fuel properly to ensure no water or contaminants are getting through to the customers? There would also be liability issues to be concerned about as well. I wonder if the potential risk would be worth it for the average owner/pilot to try to provide fuel for anyone other than themselves.