AOPA Summit forum to address aviation fuels

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.