Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine Online October/November 2021 Issue
The decades long effort to find a suitable replacement for 100-octane leaded avgas, moved one step closer to a solution July 27 when General Aviation Modifications Inc. (GAMI) announced that it has received two supplemental type certificates authorizing the use of its G100UL high-octane unleaded avgas. One STC covers a limited number of models of Lycoming engines and the second is for a limited number of Cessna airframes.
George Braly, chief engineer at GAMI, said the company will work with the FAA to expand the approved model list (AML) of engines and airframes after a period of testing with the Lycoming-powered Cessnas. Braly reports that he has been in discussions with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University about possibly using the university’s fleet of Cessna 172s as part of a controlled test, although that discussion is ongoing.
While the STCs represent a significant step in the long path toward the elimination of leaded avgas, it will be some time before G100UL might be available fleetwide, and then only if it proves itself in this large-scale test (AOPA).
