Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
I'm afraid you're right, and probably whenever the new no-lead piston Av fuel replaces 100LL the situation won't be a whole lot different.
Fueling the Future of GA Feb 2014 EAA Advocacy and Safety Governmental
issues
PLENTY OF RESEARCH and interest has not made the path to finding
the most viable unleaded fuel for general aviation any less
difficult, but the aviation fuel industry recently made progress
toward the goal.
Progress is important because the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), various state agencies, and environmental groups
are all expecting solid movement toward unleaded general aviation
fuels in the coming years. Failure to move toward an unleaded
future would likely bring additional legal challenges to the EPA,
FAA, and GA community from environmental groups demanding an
end to leaded fuel in any form.
One area of progress is the development and funding of the
FAA's Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI), established as a joint
government/industry/fuel developer effort to evaluate unleaded
aviation fuels on an equal footing and-most importantly-develop
data necessary to support a fleetwide transition to any new fuel.
EAA has been an active member of this consortium since its
inception. P AFI is now welcoming proposals for candidate fuels
to determine their viability and impact on the existing GA fleet,
requirements for production and distribution infrastructure, as well
as economic and environmental impact.
It is important to remember that a successful candidate fuel
needs to be more than a laboratory or small-scale test study winner.
An unleaded lOOLL replacement must be producible in large
enough quantities to serve the GA fleet, distributed throughout
the nation-presumably without a whole new infrastructure-and
economical enough not to deter flying.
Autogas has been a significant segment of aviation fuel since EAA
earned the first autogas STC in 1984. Tens of thousands of aircraft are
eligible to use autogas. While those piston-engine aircraft that require
high-octane avgas (and consume by far the most lOOLL annually)
are not equipped to use autogas, it works for
many smaller aircraft.
There is positive movement on the autogas front. Companies such as
Airworthy Au togas are working toward locating or cultivating
suppliers who can distribute autogas that meets the ASTM standard for
autogas as approved for the STC in the 1980s. Autogas blends have
changed greatly in 30 years due to production issues and environmental
requirements, sometimes in ways not beneficial for use in aviation
applications.
There are encouraging advances in the search for a lOOLL
replacement. In December, Shell Aviation became the first major oil
company to announce the development of a potential high-octane fuel
intended for fleetwide use. Shell now publicly joins the
well-publicized efforts of Swift Enterprises and General Aviation
Modifications Inc. in their quest for developing the most suitable
high-octane replacement for lOOLL.
There are other entities also doing their own development of
alternative fuels. EAA encourages that this work continue and all
candidate fuels be brought forth for evaluation under the PAFI
program. The multiple efforts underway show the best promise yet to
move the GA fleet to an unleaded future with the least possible
disruption.