Leaders of aviation and petroleum groups have committed to\nan initiative laying out a clear plan to transition piston-engine aircraft to\nlead-free aviation fuels by the end of 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Announced at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, last\nweek, the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative calls\nfor an industry and government partnership to expand and accelerate the actions\nand policies necessary for a viable high-octane unleaded replacement for the\ncurrent 100 octane low-lead aviation gasoline (100LL), without compromising the\nexisting U.S. transportation infrastructure system, aviation safety and the\neconomic and broader public benefits of \ngeneral aviation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hosted an industry\nstakeholder roundtable meeting in November 2021 to discuss a strategic plan\ntoward an unleaded avgas future, culminating in the establishment of the EAGLE\ninitiative, which is structured around four key pillars \u2013 Regulatory and\nPolicy, Unleaded Fuel Testing and Qualification, Research and Development, and\nBusiness Infrastructure and Implementation. These activities, which will\nrequire full government support, provide the foundation toward safe unleaded\naviation fuels for piston-engine aircraft. Industry stakeholders and the FAA\nwill begin working on the EAGLE initiative right away with a partnership\nsymposium, to define a detailed workplan, planned for March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson pledged the FAA\u2019s support of\nthe initiative\u2019s collaborative partnership. \u201cThis is a safe and practical path\nto a lead-free aviation system,\u201d Dickson said. \u201cWe look forward to starting\nthis new partnership with aviation stakeholders to achieve this important\ngoal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Groups committed to the EAGLE initiative include the\nAircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), American Association of Airport\nExecutives (AAAE), American Petroleum Institute (API), Experimental Aircraft\nAssociation (EAA), General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA),\nHelicopter Association International (HAI), National Air Transportation\nAssociation (NATA) and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are proud to be a part of this pioneering initiative to\nchart a course for a future free of leaded fuels,\u201d said NBAA President and CEO\nEd Bolen. \u201cThe EAGLE initiative is a very important step in ensuring the\nsustainability, safety and security of aviation in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe future of light general aviation depends on moving away\nfrom leaded fuels. To accomplish this imperative, it is important to note that\nour industry, as well as the industry providing our avgas, are united in\npartnering with the FAA to advance a sustainable future. The EAGLE\npublic-private partnership will ensure coordination of a safe and reliable\ntransition to an unleaded future state for piston-engine aircraft. GAMA\u2019s manufacturing and maintenance\ncompanies look forward to working with the FAA, industry colleagues and other\nstakeholders to carry out this challenging and ambitious initiative. EAGLE will be the enabler for meeting our\nenvironment goals while keeping aviation safety, as well as the broader\neconomic and public benefits provided by general aviation, at the forefront,\u201d\nsaid Pete Bunce, GAMA president and CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile the industry has a shared vision of a lead-free\naviation future, the transition must be done in a smart and safe way, and in a\nmanner that works for the entire general aviation fleet,\u201d said Mark Baker,\npresident and CEO of AOPA. \u201cJoining together in a broad coalition to reinforce\nour commitment, and outlining the plan to get there, is a very positive step\nforward. We look forward to making good progress under the EAGLE banner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEnvironmental stewardship is a high priority for airport\nexecutives, and AAAE is pleased to join with FAA and our partners in the\ngeneral aviation industry to chart a path forward to a lead-free future for\naviation fuel,\u201d AAAE President and CEO Todd Hauptli. \u201cThe EAGLE initiative sets a meaningful goal\nthat will benefit the environment, public health, and the future of general\naviation, which plays such an important role in communities across the country\nand to the national economy. We look\nforward to working with the government and our industry partners to make the\npromises of EAGLE a reality.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe welcome the opportunity to partner with the FAA and\ngeneral aviation industry to develop an achievable pathway that safely\ntransitions piston-engine aircraft to unleaded aviation fuels. The EAGLE\npublic-private partnership brings together the critical cross-section of\nindustry and government expertise that will be necessary to succeed in this\ncomplex undertaking. We look forward being a part of this collaborative effort\nto deliver a solution that ensures general aviators\u2019 continued access to the\nsafe and reliable fuels while strengthening environmental progress.\u201d \u2013 API VP\nof Downstream Policy Ron Chittim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSecuring a lead-free future for aviation fuel is a\nformidable challenge, but the aviation community has faced and met previous\nchallenges with ingenuity and imagination,\u201d said Jack J. Pelton, CEO and\nchairman of the board of the EAA. \u201cOur goal is to solve the complex issues\nsurrounding lead-free aviation fuels with innovations that ensure safety, as\nwell as reliability, marketplace availability, and continue to provide the\ncountless benefits of general and recreational aviation to our nation and the\nworld.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe EAGLE initiative brings together stakeholders dedicated\nto advancing a sustainable future for general aviation. It is imperative that\nwe safely transition piston-engine aircraft to lead-free aviation fuel by the\nend of 2030. This initiative is the right thing to do for the environment and\nthe economic health of our industry. Helicopter Association International is\ncommitted to this partnership and applauds the broad public-private partnership\nthat has come together enabling industry and government to accelerate a\nsolution. The vertical flight industry is eager to work with all stakeholders\nto move the EAGLE initiative forward,\u201d said James Viola, HAI president and CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NATA President and CEO Timothy Obitts stated, \u201cNATA and its\nmembers are dedicated to finding a single drop-in unleaded fuel to replace\n100LL that is compatible with existing infrastructure. We thank the FAA for its\nguidance and support and look forward to working with our industry partners\ntoward a safe and viable solution. The EAGLE initiative is another great\nexample of how we are uniting for the safety, success, and future of the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group endorsed commitment can be found HERE<\/a>. A graphic outlining the four pillars of EAGLE can be found HERE<\/a>. A background document regarding EAGLE can be found HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leaders of aviation and petroleum groups have committed to an initiative laying out a clear plan to transition piston-engine aircraft to lead-free aviation fuels by the end of 2030. Announced at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, last week, the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative calls for an industry and government partnership […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-district-of-columbia","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/fuel-coalition-edit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21134"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21140,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21134\/revisions\/21140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}