b'FUELINGAPA 41without adversely affecting the existing piston engine fleet. Beyond FAA and EPA, the cooperative effort involves fuel producers and distributors, airport operators, communities that support general aviation airports, engine and aircraft manufacturers, research institutions and environmental experts.The initiative goes by the moniker of EAGLE, short for Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions, and has four primary components: developing infrastructure for unleaded fuels and assessing commercial viability;supporting research and development and technology innovations;continuing to evaluate and authorize safe unleaded fuels; and establishing necessary policies and regulations. EAGLE builds on the existing work of the Piston Engine Aviation Fuels Initiative, an FAA program established in 2014 to support the evaluation of candidates to replace traditional leaded avgas. UL94, the unleaded fuel APA sells, is a 94+ motor-octane aviation gasoline that is approved by FAA as an alternative to 100LL for specified aircraft. It does not contain tetraethyl lead (the harmful neurotoxin eliminated from auto fuel in the 1990s) and meets the minimum octane requirements of more than 125,000 aircraft as a drop-in ready avgas without the need for aircraft modifications or hardware changes. Swift Fuels LLC, the sole supplier of UL94 nationwide, has produced the product at its Indiana facility since 2015. Were leaders in the industry on a global scale, says DAcosta. Our mission is getting certification from the FAA and the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) production specification for the full replacement of 100LL (leaded) avgas using our 100R avgas. UL94 achieved this for over 70% of the FAA-certified fleet and is just the initial transition toward that ultimate goal of full replacement with 100R, a 10% renewable fuel. Not surprisingly, airports in California were among the first to begin the transitionMaking the Changefrom 100LL. Currently, 15 fueling facilitiesAPA, a reliever for Denver International Airport to the northeast, in California are now using UL94 instead oflogged 302,660 flight operations last year. More than 850 100LL for hundreds of qualified aircraft. Inaircraft and 120 businesses are based at the active general fact, Chris DAcosta, chief executive officeraviation airport. Tenants include corporate flight departments, of Swift Fuels, notes that Reid Hillview Airfieldcharter companies, fractional ownership operators, large in San Jose has eliminated the sale of 100LLCHRIS DACOSTA flight schools, medevac and air ambulance services, military outright by only allowing the sale of UL94 to itsand Department of Defense entities, cargo businesses, and customers and flight schools. Sebring Regional, DeLand Municipalresearch and development companies.and Naples Municipal in Florida were also early pioneers in theTaking the statewide lead to provide unleaded gas was a transition. In total, an estimated 36 public use airports currently sellshared goal for APA officials, the airport authority board and UL94 unleaded avgas. local residents. We had a lot of members in the community The industry-wide stopwatch regarding the issue officiallywho were very concerned about the lead emissions from started last year when FAA announced a public-private initiative toaircraft fueling, says Fronapfel. safely eliminate the use of leaded aviation fuel by the end of 2030 AirportImprovement.comNovember | December 2023'