Pilots in southeastern Washington are enjoying some of the least expensive aviation fuel in the country since lead-free, ethanol-free 91 AKI autogas recently became available at Martin Field (S95), just outside of Walla Walla.
Doug Cheney, whose family owns the airport, describes the motivation to offer more choices to pilots: “Why are we doing this? We already had two tanks with separate pumps and dispensing systems. About 10 years ago we bought a load of unleaded but had very few takers. With 100LL now aimed for $6 territory, flying activity has dropped substantially and we figured it is time to try mogas again. In one of the self-service fuel stations we now offer mogas at roughly $2/gallon cheaper than 100LL. We are getting up to speed on mogas topics so we can better educate the local pilots. Not clear how long we can continue selling at this price but we already have documented cases of people flying more due to the $4 gas and that, of course, is very positive.”
Doug also reported that he’ll be presenting information on autogas provided by your bloggers at the upcoming annual Walla Walla Pilot’s Forum on Wednesday, March 7.
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., a pilot, homebuilder and expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.
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