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

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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 officially triggers a mandatory transition to unleaded fuel, a move largely welcomed and supported by the general aviation industry.
The timeline for this transition has begun, with the industry actively developing solutions, though full mandates and guidance are expected to take a couple of years.
Multiple high-octane unleaded fuel candidates are in development and pursuing different approval paths, including GAMI G100UL (STC-approved) and Swift Fuels' 100UL (pursuing both STC and ASTM consensus).
While new unleaded fuels are tested to co-mingle with 100LL during the transition, they are generally not designed to intermix with each other, and market factors like commercial viability and price will determine 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.