A lead-free future…

Iknow some of you spotted a story – as a few of you contacted me about it – in the Telegraph on January 9 with the headline: Aeroplane hobbyists putting thousands at risk of cancer thanks to lead-based fuel Sadly, I doubt an alternative headline: Pilots wish they had easily available unleaded fuel options for all aircraft… would have been quite as exciting.

Yes, many of us are already doing our bit and operating on unleaded fuels, whether that’s using Super Unleaded purchased from a garage and suitably tested to confirm there’s no ethanol present, or UL91 from one of the few places that sells it around the UK GA airfield network. I’m sure those who still have to use 100LL would immediately change to UL given the chance, even if there was a bit of a price hike, just because it’s the correct thing to do.

It’s a frustrating tale that has been going on longer than you might have perhaps realised. Google around, and you’ll find a few road signs on this painfully slow journey, but it does show that there has been some major effort taken by some big players.

In 2010 the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) suggested phasing out 100LL by first moving to a 100 ultra low lead fuel, before then moving to 100UL.

By 2013, Shell Aviation had made a grand announcement that, “a 10-year effort in the laboratory has produced a fuel that may put a long-sought goal – once thought to be unattainable – within reach: a lead-free ‘performance drop-in’ replacement for 100LL that could power any aircraft in the piston fleet. Shell’s new lead-free formula has passed preliminary tests in Lycoming engines on the ground, and a Piper Saratoga recently flew for about an hour on the fuel —the first of many tests that will be required for certification.”

Which brings us to the present day, and General Aviation Modifications Inc (GAMI), a company in the United States, being awarded a FAA STC approval at the end of 2022 for a 100UL fuel it has laboriously developed and tested over the last 10 plus years. ‘All’ that remains is to get it into production and get it distributed…

Which I’m sure has most pilots wondering, just how does a lead-free fuel for aviation get pushed over the finish line?

The LAA, AOPA and the DfT started a ‘Project TEL’ working group in 2020 and we are working with CAA to look at mechanisms to increase the viability of unleaded fuels in the UK ed.hicks@laa.uk.com

With tetraethyl lead – TEL – due to be phased out in the EU from 2025, the clock is surely ticking.

Features

12 PROJECT NEWS

A Zenair CH650B and a Nord 1002 come under the spotlight this month…

16 FLIGHT TEST

Nigel Hitchman gets an offer of a lifetime to solo a 1929 Command-Aire 3C3 powered by a V8 Curtiss OX-5 engine…

24 COACHING CORNER

In the second part on the subject of lookout, Head of PCS David Cockburn reminds pilots that as well as ‘seeing’ – be it with the aid of electronics or not – it’s just as important to ‘be seen’…

26 ENGINEERING MATTERS

Including: Ikarus C42 wing spar fretting, aileron pushrod corrosion, communicating with your Inspector, ACAM Audits, and changes to the Permit revalidation process

31 FLYING ADVENTURE

Duncan Campbell and friends load up their Luscombes (and a Navion) and head across the Channel to France…

40 TESTED

With features to optimise audio quality for pilots and built-in carbon monoxide sensing, the new Delta Zulu from Lightspeed is a significant new product in the world of ANR headsets. Ian Fraser puts it to the test…

49 MEET THE MEMBERS

Neil Parkinson talks about just how his childhood dreams of flying a Spitfire became a reality…