One year after four fuels were selected for testing as potential replacements for leaded avgas, progress remains steady, according to a report at AOPA.org, which notes that the first phase of testing should be completed later this year. Testing now is concentrated on material compatibility and rig testing, with the second phase of testing — […]
Aviation Fuel
Keeping firefighters supplied with fuel
EPIC Aviation, a fuel supplier to the general and commercial aviation industries, reports it has dispatched more than 2 million gallons of aviation fuel since the beginning of July to FBOs and fire bases supporting aerial firefighting operations in the Western United States. Aviation fuel and ground-support resources used in aerial firefighting operations have been in […]
Swift Fuels launches unleaded avgas
Swift Fuels will introduce its unleaded 94 MON avgas at the annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh July 20-26, at the Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Working with avgas producers and distributors, Swift Fuels is making plans to supply unleaded 94 MON avgas to select regions in the United States and Canada. The premium quality unleaded fuel, […]
Good news — and bad — on GA fuels
By DEAN BILLING. As you might expect, there is good news and bad news surrounding aviation fuel. First the good news: A self-serve fuel system has been installed at Nampa, Idaho. (KMAN). An Oregon bill, HB-3193, that “increases license tax on leaded aircraft fuel,” stalled in the Oregon House Committee On Transportation And Economic Development and is […]
The devil is in the details with unleaded avgas
In the 1970s, the automotive world switched from leaded to unleaded fuels and the oil companies did a lot of research on knocking and how to prevent it. One of the big projects involved octane requirement increase (ORI). In this program, cars were rated for octane requirement when new and then every 2,000 miles. The octane […]
Taxing the lead out of 100LL
By DEAN BILLING. California was the first state to attempt to remove the lead from 100LL by lawsuit. Unfortunately, the result of the unsuccessful CEH lawsuit only increased the cost of 100LL in the state. Now, along comes Oregon, which wants to tax the lead out of 100LL. I have a feeling this method will appeal to […]
Testing the octane rating of aviation fuel
A wise man once said, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, then you have evidently not grasped the gravity of the situation.” When I first started working at Shell back in the late 1960s, we did a lot of work on octane requirements. Due to the poor correlation […]
Result Of CEH lawsuit settlement: Were there any?
By DEAN BILLING. Late in 2011, a little known environmental organization, perhaps totally unknown in aviation circles, Center For Environmental Health (CEH) filed a lawsuit against “30 companies that sell and/or distribute lead-containing aviation gas (avgas) at 23 California airports, calling on the companies to provide safer alternative fuels.” At the time, there was some fanfare in […]
The difference between 100LL and 100/130LL
In my last column, I proposed a way to get the lead out of 100LL — or at least out of the name. I received a number of responses, both pro and con. I always appreciate both types of comments and try to learn from them. I would like to address just one of the negative […]