Pilots in the Pacific Northwest are enjoying lower-cost fuel and reduced lead problems ever since Arlington Flight Services at the Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO) added aviation-grade, 92 AKI mogas earlier this month. As many know, this airport hosts the annual Arlington Fly-In each July, one of the largest sport aviation events in the country. The availability of mogas at next year’s event is sure to encourage more to attend.
Lucas Smith, Director of Flight Operations at Arlington Flight Services, sent us the following comments on the reasons for adding more options for aviation fuel in Arlington:
“In developing our plan for the growth and future of Arlington Flight Services we identified several key areas that needed to be addressed. One of these areas was the installation of a ramp area and fuel tanks. In exploring our options with the fuel system we asked for and received a good deal of feedback regarding ethanol-free auto fuel. In our analysis of the aircraft fleet based at KAWO, as well as aircraft operating from nearby airports, we believed there was a substantial demand for this type of fuel.”
Two frequent arguments made against mogas are lack of supply and the cost of additional fuel equipment. Neither was a major issue for Arlington Flight Services, located in a part of the country where ethanol free ‘pump gas’ at gas stations can be difficult to find.
“We did not encounter any difficulty in finding a supplier. We selected a local supplier, Nelson Petroleum, based out of Everett, Wash. The tanks for the mogas and 100LL were custom built for our application. Funding of the project was through private means. Both the mogas and 100LL are self-serve 24-7. So far the reaction has been very positive and sales have been increasing since the commissioning. We expect a gradual build up in sales volume as word gets out.”
Congratulations and thank you to Lucas Smith and his colleagues at Arlington Flight Services. The airport has been added to Dean Billing’s list and map of airports selling mogas across the country.
By coincidence, the publication Aviation Consumer is running a survey on aviation fuels that asks many questions related to the interest in various aviation fuel options, especially mogas. We encourage readers to participate in this survey.
Kudos to Arlington Flight Services!
This would make a good case study. One of the reasons often given for not installing MOGAS pumps is that the jobbers (selling 100LL) have been telling the retailers that other places selling MOGAS aren’t selling enough to keep reasonably fresh fuel in their tanks. The claim is that many places selling MOGAS are getting saddled with aging fuel that they then have to dispose of. It would be nice to see a report a year from now comparing the MOGAS sales vs the 100LL sales at Arlington over the course of a year.
One of the many myths concerning mogas is its supposed short shelf life. Ben Visser commented in his column on this some months ago, and stated that quality, ethanol-free mogas has a shelf life of 12 months, not much different than avgas and Jet-A. Once ethanol however is in the fuel, all bets are off. E10 gasoline at the local El Cheapo gas station is not the same as quality, aviation-grade mogas delivered from the terminal to the airport.