Your bloggers just came across this letter (download here) from the EPA dated Nov. 30, written to the heads of the ethanol lobby (Gen. Wesley Clark and Jeff Broin of Growth Energy), essentially promising to force E15 on us all next year despite widespread opposition.

Car companies and hundreds of other companies and organizations affected by the use of ethanol have been strong in their opposition to raising the limit on ethanol in our fuels from the current 10% cap. You’ll find a list of these on pp 27-34 from our AirVenture ’09 Forum at http://www.e0pc.com/AV09_Fuels.pdf.

[Read more...]

Two recent articles in the New York Times chronicle eroding public support for ethanol production mandates and its use in vehicle fuels:

“A Growing Disaster”, by Russell Harding, 11/28/2009

“US Unlikely to use the Ethanol Congress Ordered”, Matthew Wald, 11/26/2009

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.

Another nail has been driven into the coffin of ethanol free fuel in the Pacific Northwest. Practically all of the gasoline in western Washington and western Oregon comes from four major refineries on the Puget sound north of Seattle.  Since Oregon is already a mandatory E10 state due to a state law, we have been receiving mostly suboctane blending product, called BOB, to make our E10 gasoline for more than a year. All of that product, except a small amount that comes in by ocean-going barge, comes down the Olympic pipeline from those four refineries.

[Read more...]

The pros and cons of using ethanol blends in light aircraft may seem like a new issue, but this article that appeared in the June 1935 issue of “Popular Aviation” expresses many of the same concerns shared by your bloggers.

While we are not categorically in opposition to ethanol’s use as an aviation fuel, its presence in fuels today removes an option that could power 80% of the current fleet of piston-engine aircraft.
[Read more...]

Predictions of the phasing out of 100LL “during the Teens” has been described in this article from David Travers Adolphus of the Hemmings Motor News (scroll down to bottom). The article suggests that the likely replacement will be 94UL, quoting sources at the EPA.

[Read more...]

The EAA announced Oct. 13 that its President Tom Poberezny will participate in the AOPA Summit Opening Panel in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 5:  “The group will focus on what’s ahead for general aviation over the next three years, including controversial topics such as user fees, security mandates, and airspace issues.”

This includes a special Fuels Forum at 2 p.m. EAA and AOPA members are invited to submit questions for this forum to pilotassist@aopa.org

Dean Billing submitted the following:

Question for the “Future of Avgas” forum at the AOPA Aviation Summit: Since unleaded auto gasoline made to ASTM D4814 is an approved aviation fuel, when is AOPA, EAA and the FAA going to publicly support the infrastructure at public use airports to provide this approved aviation fuel? Approximately 80% of the GA fleet, including 99% of the new LSA aircraft, could be using this approved unleaded fuel today, but we are going to lose it because the unintended consequences of the federal RFS mandate, EISA 2007, is driving ethanol into all of the unleaded auto gasoline, even though the ethanol is supposed to be used to make E85.  Why isn’t there widespread support for this lead free fuel source?  It is going to be pretty ironic if TEL goes away about the same time all of the unleaded fuel in this country is E10, or higher.

On Oct. 2 the ASTM announced the start of a new avgas specification for a “binary unleaded aviation fuel”:

“1.1 This specification covers formulating specifications for purchases of a binary unleaded aviation fuel under contract and is intended primarily for use by purchasing agencies for testing purposes. 1.2 This specification defines a specific type of binary unleaded aviation fuel for use as an aviation gasoline.”

Your bloggers do not have any more information at this time, and are not familiar with the meaning of a “binary” fuel. Can our readers help us

What & Why – GAFuels is your source for up-to-date information concerning fuels for sport aviation. The primary focus is on:

• Availability of 100LL
• Progress on finding a replacement for 100LL
• Availability of Mogas
• Influence of ethanol production mandates on Mogas availability
• Effects of ethanol-blended Mogas on aircraft and their engines
• Efforts by various organizations to influence aviation fuel policies at the state and federal level

Who we are – Three private pilots who are concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft.

• 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

We welcome your input:

• Status of 100LL and Mogas at your favorite airfields (see our list of airports with Mogas)
• Any pertinent news you learn concerning aviation fuels
• Your own experience with various fuels in aircraft

We look forward to the dialog with you. Let’s work together to assure a future supply of safe and affordable fuels for general aviation.

For some background on our chief concerns, please review our article, Fuels for Sport Aircraft: The Looming Crisis.

In commenting on the FAA’s unexpected release of a new Airport Compliance Manual on Sept. 30, the EAA cited three major weaknesses of the document.  The first dealt with the absence of any mention of autogas as a legal and important aviation fuel:

“Autofuel was not recognized as an authorized aviation fuel, nor does it suggest that airports take actions to install self-service, ethanol-free premium grade autogas pumps to support the 100,000+ aircraft that use autogas as their primary, FAA-approved aviation fuel.”

[Read more...]