Photo: Plains & Pilot (outer image) GAMI (Inner Image)
We're told again and again these days that the environmental ramifications of private and commercial aviation are so severe that we ought to drastically decrease the level of global air traffic, lest we poke even more holes in the ozone layer with jet and piston engine exhaust. In the same way that the automobile routinely takes the fall for the state of the environment, so do their brethren in the sky.But what if engineers simply changed the fuel in modern airplanes? That's exactly what General Aviation Modifications Inc. is trying to accomplish.
Based out of the little town of Ada, Oklahoma, GAMI, as they're often referred to, is preparing to roll out an all-new formula for aviation fuel to a market more obsessed than any other with its environmental footprint, California. Ordinarily, the bread and butter of GAMI's operation is manufacturing very high-quality fuel injectors for aviation-optimized internal combustion engines in smaller private aircraft, of which they manufacture parts for over 300 different engines. But undoubtedly, GAMI's most exciting project is their proprietary 100-octane aviation fuel dubbed G100UL.
In a report first detailed by avweb.com, GAMI's head of engineering George Braly, revealed that the company had reached an agreement with the internationally renowned Vitol Aviation petroleum company to mass produce this eco-conscious new aviation fuel for its first foray into a Californian market. It's a market that's the most likely of any in the North America to embrace a lower-cost alternative to traditional avgas.
According to GAMI, the total cost of all the materials in G100UL's proprietary fuel blend is between 85 cents and $1.15 more costly per gallon than the alkylate-based avgas private plane flyers the world over are familiar with. Word of the wise there, traditional avgas often contain delightful chemicals like tetraethyl lead as an agent to prevent engine knocking at high altitudes.
Should all go according to plans, GAMI intends to use the California market as a launching point for their unleaded avgas to ship nationwide and potentially even further beyond in the future. As federal regulators and bigwigs in Washington DC prepare to pass legislation effectively outlawing the mass production of lead-based avgas, this puts GAMI and its industry competitors in a particularly lucrative situation, depending on which team can provide the most satisfactory product.
As for GAMI, its recent FAA approval means its contractors can go hog-wild with production if the tree-hugging Californian private pilots eager to rid their state of lead-based fuels take to G100UL as the company hopes. If the trial run turns out successful, it might even signal a profound turning point in the history of aviation. So to say, the period where aviation kicked leaded fuel to the curb forever. You know, like cars and trucks have been doing since the 1990s.
In a report first detailed by avweb.com, GAMI's head of engineering George Braly, revealed that the company had reached an agreement with the internationally renowned Vitol Aviation petroleum company to mass produce this eco-conscious new aviation fuel for its first foray into a Californian market. It's a market that's the most likely of any in the North America to embrace a lower-cost alternative to traditional avgas.
According to GAMI, the total cost of all the materials in G100UL's proprietary fuel blend is between 85 cents and $1.15 more costly per gallon than the alkylate-based avgas private plane flyers the world over are familiar with. Word of the wise there, traditional avgas often contain delightful chemicals like tetraethyl lead as an agent to prevent engine knocking at high altitudes.
Should all go according to plans, GAMI intends to use the California market as a launching point for their unleaded avgas to ship nationwide and potentially even further beyond in the future. As federal regulators and bigwigs in Washington DC prepare to pass legislation effectively outlawing the mass production of lead-based avgas, this puts GAMI and its industry competitors in a particularly lucrative situation, depending on which team can provide the most satisfactory product.
As for GAMI, its recent FAA approval means its contractors can go hog-wild with production if the tree-hugging Californian private pilots eager to rid their state of lead-based fuels take to G100UL as the company hopes. If the trial run turns out successful, it might even signal a profound turning point in the history of aviation. So to say, the period where aviation kicked leaded fuel to the curb forever. You know, like cars and trucks have been doing since the 1990s.
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