President's position on unleaded fuel

First, AOPA does not support one unleaded fuel over another. The marketplace (pilots) will ultimately determine which fuels are successful and which are not.

Second, AOPA has been a strong proponent of a “burn and learn” approach to new FAA-approved unleaded fuels to help accelerate a transition to an unleaded future. As we did with our Beechcraft Baron last year, AOPA will continue to demonstrate new unleaded fuels as they become available, and we’ll provide full transparency on our results. Our experience with General Aviation Modifications Inc.’s G100UL has been widely reported and was quite positive overall. Swift Fuels’ 100R has been approved by the FAA for use in Cessna 172R/S airplanes with Lycoming IO-360-L2A engines. As more aircraft are added to the approved model list, we’ll be demonstrating 100R and will share our experience with the industry.

Third, a key tenet of the “burn and learn” approach is a rapid and transparent assessment by both the FAA and fuel producers to quickly determine if any reported concerns about using 100-octane unleaded avgas are in fact a result of using the new fuel, and if there are mitigation options that should be shared with other users. We owe it to the entire industry to quickly assess issues as they arise and respond accordingly as we learn. AOPA will also continue to partner with all key stakeholders across the aviation ecosystem to advocate for open and transparent materials compatibility testing throughout the supply chain.

This challenge is somewhat amplified for the homebuilt community because of the diversity of materials used, placing an extra burden on experimental aircraft operators to make these assessments themselves. The Experimental Aircraft Association has crafted useful guidance to help owners of these aircraft navigate this journey effectively.

If you’ve used 100-octane unleaded avgas in your airplane, we encourage you to share your experience, both good and bad, with AOPA.

At AOPA, we’ll tirelessly advocate on behalf of all our members, and the general aviation industry more broadly, for a transparent approach to getting safely to the unleaded future we’re all committed to.