Ownership

The  FAA has released a 36-page decision on a complaint filed by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), joined by local pilots and aviation businesses, against the County of Santa Clara, California. The decision finds that the county’s 2022 prohibition of 100LL aviation fuel violated its federal airport grant obligations. The county agreed to […]

The Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions organization has released its third and final examination of what it sees as the key elements of the industry and government quest for an alternative to 100LL. This one looks at the role ASTM International, a private sector consensus standards organization, plays in that pursuit. Two of three candidate […]

A judge will issue a final ruling no earlier than two weeks from now on a California environmental group’s bid to force the replacement of 100LL with GAMI’s G100UL at 17 FBOs. Superior Court Judge Somnath Raj Chatterjee said he wants to review the transcript of arguments heard in Alameda on Wednesday before making a […]

A California court will consider whether to compel 17 FBOs and four fuel distributors to sell GAMI G100UL unleaded fuel instead of 100LL on Wednesday, and an enormous effort has been mounted to block that. As we’ve reported, the Center for Environmental Health is going to court to enforce a consent agreement signed by the […]

The FAA has certified GE’s new Catalyst turboprop engine, giving Textron a lot more certainty in the introduction of the Beechcraft Denali, the utility single that was basically built around the new engine. GE announced the certification late last week and said it’s now gearing up production to let Textron start delivering Denalis as the […]

Piper Aircraft issued a “Customer Communication” this afternoon (Feb. 25) informing Piper operators it does not approve using any fuels that have received FAA Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) in its aircraft. The letter (copied in full below) said, in part, “At this time, without additional information regarding fuels that have undergone the STC approval process, […]

The Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions group has issued its second in a series of three information bulletins, this one explaining the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) and the role it plays in the FAA’s potential issuance of a “fleet authorization” for a fuel being developed by Lyondell/Basell. If the fuel passes the battery of […]

Last week, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) weighed in on the controversy surrounding G100UL unleaded aviation gasoline from General Aviation Modifications Inc. (GAMI). As an advocacy group for Experimental-Amateur Built (E-AB) aircraft, among others, EAA’s statement focused on specific concerns for E-AB builders and operators. While EAA noted that G100UL has been authorized for use […]

Cirrus says it doesn’t approve of the use of G100UL or any other unleaded fuel in its SR series aircraft, but G100UL’s developer says that position flies in the face of the airframer’s own FAA-supervised testing. Cirrus issued a statement on Thursday saying it now believes that G100UL that leaked from an SR22 in California “resulted […]

California A&P Michael Luvara says he’s been told by the owner of a Cirrus SR22 that its composite structure has been damaged by exposure to GAMI’s G100UL unleaded fuel to the point where it will have to be ferried to an authorized repair center to be fixed. But GAMI founder George Braly says he’s personally […]