These two articles document new concerns about ethanol production and its impact on our environment.

Corn Ethanol Climate Positive … in 100 Years

A Possible Negative Impact of Ethanol Production on Water Quality

The GAfuels Blog is written by three private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft. They are:

• Dean Billing (Sisters, Ore.) – an expert on autogas and ethanol
• Kent Misegades (Cary, N.C.) – an aerospace engineer and aviation journalist
• Todd Petersen (Minden, Neb.) – former aerial applicator and owner of more than 150 Mogas STCs for aircraft

For a list of airports that have ethanol-free fuel and those no longer pumping it, compiled by the authors, follow this link.

By DEAN BILLING

Washington State pilots should be aware of a bill in the Washington legislature that will have a detrimental effect on the availability of the rapidly disappearing ethanol-free unleaded auto fuel.

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As reported by the New York Times, despite widespread opposition and scant results from ongoing testing of vehicles burning E15, the EPA is already predicting it will approve lifting the current limit of ethanol in vehicle fuels from 10% to 15% by the end of 2010.

Admitting that vehicles built before 2001 would need to continue using E10, the EPA suggests that distributors and gas stations would need to offer multiple fuels with differing amounts of ethanol, displaying an astounding naivete as to the difficulty and expense this would entail. Industry groups quoted in the article warn of engine damage and the danger for fire.

While some aircraft engines may operate on E10, no manufacturer recommends the use of the fuel. No aircraft engines are currently approved for E15, and the loss of power that such high levels of ethanol would lead to would likely make flight with E15 unsafe.

The GAfuels Blog is written by three private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft. They are:

• Dean Billing (Sisters, Ore.) – an expert on autogas and ethanol
• Kent Misegades (Cary, N.C.) – an aerospace engineer and aviation journalist
• Todd Petersen (Minden, Neb.) – former aerial applicator and owner of more than 150 Mogas STCs for aircraft

For a list of airports that have ethanol-free fuel and those no longer pumping it, compiled by the authors, follow this link.

In an article appearing recently in the Raleigh News & Observer, the EPA has stated that more testing is needed before E15 can be used in automobiles. This article also comments on the fuel’s use in other vehicles, however does not mention aircraft.  From our perspective, the EPA makes light of hundreds of strong, well-founded arguments against E15 made by major companies during the recent public comment period.

The GAfuels Blog is written by three private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft. They are:

• Dean Billing (Sisters, Ore.) – an expert on autogas and ethanol
• Kent Misegades (Cary, N.C.) – an aerospace engineer and aviation journalist
• Todd Petersen (Minden, Neb.) – former aerial applicator and owner of more than 150 Mogas STCs for aircraft

For a list of airports that have ethanol-free fuel and those no longer pumping it, compiled by the authors, follow this link.

21st Century science should be good science, but it isn’t.  Climategate scientists prove that money talks. This opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal documents how man-made global-warming theorists have been manipulating data in their efforts to maintain funding of pet projects.  Given that such theories provide a fundamental justification for the pursuit of “renewable” energy such as ethanol, the fallout from this international scandal could — and should — lead to reconsideration of the EISA 2007 mandates for ethanol production, the reason that a supply of lead-free aviation fuel is rapidly disappearing in the U.S.
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Marathon Oil Co. is marketing a 90 octane unleaded non-ethanol gasoline as a recreational fuel for boats.  We believe this fuel to be perfectly suited for use with 87 octane auto fuel STCs.  In some locations it is one octane point higher, 91 octane.  91 octane is suitable for use with all auto fuel STCs.

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The EAA recently published an article in its online “Light Plane World” reviewing the various aspects of operating small aircraft engines when ethanol might be present in Mogas.

Building on past work by your bloggers and others, the article does a good job of providing ample warning of the various problems that can occur when ethanol is found in our fuel. Unfortunately, it does not explain why the supply of ethanol-free fuel is becoming scarce, nor does it suggest what actions might be taken to reverse this trend. Your bloggers have repeatedly called for an exemption to the EISA 2007 ethanol production mandates that would forbid the blending of ethanol in premium unleaded gas, thus preserving a fuel for the millions of gasoline engines in vehicles and machinery that can not burn it.
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Thanks to Cal Hoffman of the Barnwell Regional Airport (BNL) in Barnwell, S.C., for informing us that the airport has a supply of 93 octane (AKI), ethanol-free, lead-free Mogas on the field.

He does not expect any disruptions to the supply in the near future, and suggests that the strong demand for ethanol-free fuel from the marine industry on the coast of South Carolina and Georgia is the cause.

At the time of this posting, Mogas at BNL cost only $3.05 compared to a national average of $3.30, and a national average of $4.53 for 100LL.

The GAfuels Blog is written by three private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft. They are:

• Dean Billing (Sisters, Ore.) – an expert on autogas and ethanol
• Kent Misegades (Cary, N.C.) – an aerospace engineer and aviation journalist
• Todd Petersen (Minden, Neb.) – former aerial applicator and owner of more than 150 Mogas STCs for aircraft

For a list of airports that have ethanol-free fuel and those no longer pumping it, compiled by the authors, follow this link.