Time to Get Serious About Unleaded Fuel

The EAGLE consortium needs to soar to the challenge now that the FAA and industry must move forward on its roadmap.

Julie Boatman

Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 02:58 PM ET

Verified

Candidate fuels are in various stages of progress, with at least one STC already approved. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The EPA's endangerment finding on leaded avgas was expected and welcomed by the general aviation industry, officially triggering the committed transition to unleaded fuels for high-performance piston engines under the Clean Air Act.
Several companies are developing unleaded avgas solutions, with GAMI's G100UL having FAA Supplemental Type Certification (STC), while Swift Fuels and two other candidates (Afton Chemical/Phillips 66 and Lyondell/VP Racing) are pursuing approval through STC and/or the industry-wide ASTM consensus specification process.
The transition timeline will take a couple of years for full mandates and guidance, and while safety certification is key, commercial viability also hinges on industry acceptance via consensus standards to mitigate business risks for all stakeholders. The new fuels are not designed to intermix with each other, and market factors, including price, will ultimately decide their adoption.

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The general aviation industry expected last week’s release from the Environmental Protection Agency of the endangerment finding on leaded avgas. Thanks to a number of factors—including recent codification of leaded fuel reduction plans under the EAGLE (Eliminate Aviation Gas Lead Emissions) coalition—it feels like the finding was welcomed rather than feared.

Because of the way the U.S. government operates, particularly under the Clean Air Act of 1970, certain processes within the associated agencies, including the FAA, could not begin without the finding.