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GAMA INSIGHT By Pete Bunce 44 MAY 2016 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY I F ALL GOES ACCORDING TO PL AN, OPERATORS OF piston-engine aircraft will be putting a different kind of fuel in their tanks in the not-too-distant future. That's because a joint industr y-government effort — the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) — is work- ing to develop and deploy an unleaded fuel for piston airplanes to replace the 100 low-lead avgas current- ly used on 167,000 aircraft in the U.S. and a total of 230,000 aircraf t around the world. GAMA ser ves on PAFI's Steering Group, along with the FA A, the Aircraft Owners a n d P i l o t s A s s o c ia t i o n , the E xperimental Aircraf t Association, the National Air Transpor tation Association, and the National Business Aviation Association. As a bit of background, avgas is currently the only form of transpor tation fuel that contains tetraethyl lead, which has historically been required to create the high-octane levels needed by high-performance aircraf t engines. Piston-engine operations without adequate octane can result in engine failure. So as PAFI seeks to qualif y the best fuels for use, it's evaluat- ing the impact of a totally new unleaded fuel on the full scope of aircraft performance and systems capability — an impressive, and extensive, process. In 2013, the FA A requested that fuel producers submit replacement fuel proposals for evaluation. Six companies responded with 17 fuel formulations, which the FA A then evaluated based on their impact on the existing fleet, their production and distribution infrastructure, their environmental and toxicological effects, and the anticipated cost of aircraft operations. After this careful review process, just four fuels were selected for fur ther rigorous Phase I testing. The Phase I laborator y and rig testing looked at fuel proper ties and determined compatibility with aircraft materials and components. Following this testing, the FA A announced this March that it had winnowed the list fur ther, from four to two fuels. Those two fuels, produced by Shell and Swift Fuels, will soon undergo full-scale Phase II testing in engines and aircraft, which is expected to wrap up in 2018. This testing will be critical in determining how to minimize the ef fect of a transition on all aspects of the existing fleet, including aircraft and operations. If the testing goes well, the FA A will then issue a fleet- wide authorization for gen- eral aviation aircraft to use the fuels and support the development of an ASTM International Production Specification for commercialization of the avgas. This specification will allow the fuels to be accepted in the marketplace, which will determine the next steps in terms of when and where fuel is available. While there are a lot of steps in the avgas transition, the FA A deser ves our thanks for keeping the PAFI pro- gram on schedule. So does the U.S. Congress, especial- ly the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, which all recognized the importance of this transition. Congress approved $7 million in funding in fiscal year (FY) 2016 for PAFI, and GAMA has made it a priority to request additional unleaded avgas funding for FY 2017. As we make this impor tant transition to unleaded avgas, GAMA and other members of the PAFI Steering Group will continue working hard to ensure the new unleaded avgas allows the existing fleet to operate safely and reduce general aviation's impact on the environment. POWERING THE PISTON FLEET WITH A NEW KIND OF FUEL The Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) is working to develop and deploy an unleaded fuel for piston airplanes to replace the 100 low-lead avgas currently used on 167,000 aircraf in the U.S. and a total of 230,000 aircraf around the world PETE BUNCE is president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), which represents more than 85 of the world's leading manufacturers of general avia- tion airplanes and rotorcraft, engines, avion- ics, components, and related services. GAMA's members also operate repair stations, FBOs, pilot and main- tenance training facilities and manage fleets of aircraft. For more info: www. gama.aero . Shell and Swift Fuels have been chosen by the FA A to produce the new fuel..