POISONLESS PERFORMANCE UNLEADED AVGAS APPROVED AMIDST SAN JOSE CONTROVERSY

Heavy lead fills the air with power and poison and a ban on 100 Low Lead fuel sales all year at two California airports sparked outrage that burned through decades of red tape. High performance piston fuel that does not cause brain damage was approved by the FAA on 1 September and the US Environmental Protection Agency started the process with a hearing on 1 November.

- JEFFREY DECKER

However, the final EPA action is three years away and the new lead-free alternative will not be widely available any time soon. The first batch is the most expensive. Since 1 January 100 octane fuel has been banned at airports owned by Santa Clara County, the most populous part of the San Francisco area. The unanimous decision by the county board, which is on track to close Reid Hillview Airport by 2031, was decried as illegally unsafe by the FAA and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. AOPA brought a legal challenge 14 October. County leaders remain defiant. There are tough questions from congress and outrage on all sides.

“It is very promising that Santa Clara County banned lead sales. It proved that somebody could do it,” said George Braly, CEO of General Aviation Modifications, Inc. His Oklahoma turbo-conversion firm invented the safe alternative to lead in 2009. He expected approval in 2013 and spent ten years re-proving the fuel’s safety and performance. “They made it easy for the FAA to focus on what they should have done years before,” he adds.

With light aircraft responsible for 70 percent of today’s lead emissions, it’s toxicity indisputable and it’s widespread harm to society well known, why is it still in use 25 years after the US banned leaded car fuel? The world did, too. Last year Algeria was the last to give up lead after stockpiles ran out. A United Nations report says that status quo survived by bribery and intimidation.