Price of AvGas increases in Alaska

Sept. 01, 2011-

The current price for AvGas (100 Low Lead) in Alaska has risen to:
Average price per gallon= $6.59
Minimum price per gallon=$5.17
Highest price per gallon   =$11.00

For more information on Arctic fueling go to:http://www.colvilleinc.com/fuel.html

AOPA on the AVGAS issue: Lycoming's Approach

AVGAS AND ENGINES: LYCOMING’S APPROACH

How are the engine manufacturers preparing for the eventual transition to an unleaded avgas? AOPA posed some questions to Lycoming Engines about the company’s approach to the challenge.

AOPA: What is your primary focus in considering a transition to unleaded avgas?

Lycoming: Flight safety is Lycoming’s top consideration and is at the forefront of our call for a 100 octane replacement fuel. Flying an aircraft is an inherently complex and demanding activity. An airplane works because it is designed as a system which involves (a) the fuel, (b) the engine, (c) the propeller, (d) the aircraft, (e) the pilot, and (f) the mechanic. A malfunction in any one of these elements can affect flight safety.

Few flight safety inputs are more important than the fuel that allows engines to create and maintain the power needed by the aircraft for predictable flight performance. Without a 100 octane replacement fuel, many legacy and current production aircraft will be unable to operate in the same entire flight envelope for which they were designed. This impact to the aircraft performance window is why—in Lycoming’s viewpoint—the aviation fuels issues are directly related to flight safety.

AOPA: How are you organizing internally to respond to the eventual transition to unleaded avgas?

Lycoming: We are engaged on this subject at several levels. In general, we have been anticipating a change for some time, thus have tried to remain as flexible as possible with our fuel approvals, as evident in our Service Instruction 1070Q. Here are three key categories of effort.

• First, we're working to build out our understanding of the relationship between our engines and unleaded fuels based on almost 20 years of data. Many Lycoming engine models have been approved to run on unleaded aviation grade fuels since 1995. This was made possible by the materials and component designs used in our engines combined with more than two decades of service history—and that data history is part of our baseline for taking steps for a next generation avgas.
• Second, we have a public component to our strategy. We have provided the FAA with engines and component parts, as well as engineering support, to assist with the evaluation of potential future, unleaded, fuels; and we have moved Lycoming to a much more public stance via our ongoing fuels education campaign and our commitment to unbiased, independent fuels research.
• Third, we are introducing new engine technology. In addition to their many other advanced features, the iE2 integrated electronic engine, now flying in the Lancair Evolution, and 233 series light sport aircraft engine are both capable of operating on lower octane unleaded fuels.

AOPA: From an engine manufacturer’s perspective, what do you see as the greatest technical challenge in a single-fuel solution for a future unleaded avgas?

Lycoming: There are a number of challenges that will need to be addressed, and focusing on the technical aspects is only one dimension of the problem. So let’s assume—and it is a big assumption—that the market demand has been established for a 100LL equivalent and that the necessary capital investment has flowed to the innovators to make their processes economical. It has now been demonstrated that you can get to “100LL performance” without TEL (tetraethyl lead) via multiple paths.

The greatest technical challenge appears to be mitigating potential materials compatibility issues on legacy aircraft.

While this may seem to be a daunting challenge on the surface, one of the most rapidly advancing fields in engineering has been in the materials science area. Lycoming believes that there is a high probability that any materials compatibility challenges could be resolved within the natural maintenance life cycle of equipment. It is also the reason why we point out that we need to identify a solution in the next one to two years in order to be able to have 10 years for a roll-out without major economic impact.

Aug. 27 "Today" is the deadline for comments on the 100Low Lead Avgas issue

Please be advised that today Aug. 27, 2010 is the deadline for comments to the EPA about how a ruling restricting the use of 100 Low Lead Avgas will affect future aviation operations in the U.S.

Comments specific to Alaska (and the U.S. in general) need to be addressed in addition to those in the Lower-48 Please see previous posts as to how to comment on this issue.

Stevens flight an irony of errors? - Anchorage Aviation Community

Stevens flight an irony of errors? - Anchorage Aviation Community

Stevens flight an irony of errors? - Anchorage Aviation Community

Stevens flight an irony of errors? - Anchorage Aviation Community

Alaska Sen. Murkowski comments on potential impacts if EPA regulates Avgas

WASHINGTON, D.C. –( July 22,2010)- U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that any new regulations on leaded aviation fuel under the Clean Air Act are implemented in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and aviation stakeholders and that no changes be implemented until an alternative aviation fuel can be developed and tested.

The EPA has formally begun a regulatory process under the Clean Air Act which may result in standards mandating that the aviation industry transition to unleaded aviation gasoline, or avgas.  The EPA has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR), providing an opportunity for the general aviation community to comment on this possible new environmental standard and the development of a plan for potentially transitioning to unleaded fuel. Murkowski submitted comments as part of the ANPR calling on the EPA to develop a substitute to leaded-gasoline and to test any developed alternatives in Alaska.

These potential regulatory changes, if implemented by the EPA, would primarily affect piston-driven aircraft engines. In Alaska, there are more than 10,000 registered piston engine aircraft, many of which serve as the primary mode of transportation and source of goods and supplies for many Alaskans and are vital to the transportation, recreational and survival needs of numerous communities. A change in this regulation could result in approximately 30 percent of Alaska’s piston engine fleet requiring engine modification or being grounded completely due to a switch to unleaded fuel.

“Aviation is a basic mode of transportation and the small general aviation aircraft is the equivalent of the minivan for a family in bush Alaska,” Murkowski wrote in her submitted comments.

Should the EPA move forward to implement changes requiring private aircraft to shift from leaded aviation gas to unleaded before the development of an alternative fuel for aircraft engines, Murkowski said the changes could result in  severe economic and social impacts to communities across Alaska as aircraft owners are forced to modify or even replace their engines in order to meet new EPA regulations.

“Over 95 percent of Alaskan aircraft are piston engine aircraft that burn leaded aviation fuel. Without these aircraft and their ability to access these rural and oftentimes remote communities, thousands of Alaskans could face extraordinarily negative socio-economic problems,” Murkowski wrote.

Murkowski also stressed the need for the EPA not to enact broad policy changes on the use of leaded aviation fuel without jointly working with the FAA and without a consensus of members of the aviation community who manufacture, service and operate aircraft engines using leaded fuel. 

Sen. Begich making pitch for GA aircraft and 100 Low Lead Av users

http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2010/100713begich.html

A premature regulation of lead emissions from aviation fuel could have negative effects on the piston general aviation fleet across the nation. But GA-dependent communities in Alaska especially have a lot at stake, Senate General Aviation Caucus Co-Chair Mark Begich (D-Alaska) told the Environmental Protection Agency July 8, 2010.

The impacts of a phaseout of lead from avgas would be magnified in Alaska, Begich wrote in a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Begich explained the potential impact of regulations on avgas, called for the FAA to invest resources in developing an unleaded alternative to 100LL, and asked the agency for an additional extension to the comment period on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking so that Alaskans would have more time to review the document and comment.

“The EPA should not phase out or eliminate 100LL until a suitable replacement is found,” Begich wrote. “A suitable substitute fuel should be affordable and should not require costly or impractical engine or airframe modifications to the in-use piston engine fleet.”

The transition to an unleaded avgas presents significant challenges, he added. The FAA, working with the aviation and petrochemical industries, must direct additional resources in an effort to find a replacement fuel, Begich wrote. A general aviation avgas coalition, including AOPA, the American Petroleum Institute (API), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA), has similarly called for FAA leadership and dedicated funding to address the avgas issue.

The issue of leaded avgas is particularly important to Alaska, Begich noted. The state’s expansive geography and limited road infrastructure results in it having six times more pilots and 16 times more airplanes per capita than the rest of the country, he wrote.

“Most of Alaska’s rural communities are served by shorter gravel airstrips which cannot accommodate larger jet aircraft. Because of these logistical limitations, general aviation and air taxis are a critical component of commerce and are the prevalent method of transporting people, goods, and mail to Alaska’s roadless communities. When Alaskans in a remote village require medical treatment at a hospital, most frequently they travel to a larger community via piston engine aircraft,” Begich wrote.

Because of the potential impact on Alaska, Begich asked the EPA to extend the deadline for comments on its advance notice of proposed rulemaking (EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0294-0100) regarding lead emissions from aviation until Oct. 31. The avgas coalition previously requested a 120-day extension on the comment period but was granted 60 days, so the extension Begich requested would make the deadline the same as what the coalition initially requested. Summer is the busiest time of year for Alaska’s aviators, he wrote, so the additional two months would allow them more time to review the proposed rulemaking and comment.