1 michael mooney v.p. & cro mark willey ceo mike france director, safety & training the...

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Michael MooneyV.P. & CRO

Mark WilleyCEO

Mike FranceDirector, Safety & Training

The Future of Avgas

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What we will cover today……• History of Avgas• Fleet Requirements & Challenges• Proposition 65 and CEH Lawsuit• PAFI Road Map to Unleaded Avgas• Q & A

The Future of Avgas

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The History of Avgas

Aviation Gasoline Grades

80/87 100/130

100LL

1960’s

70’s to 90’s 80/87

100LL90’s to now

Future 100UL

.5 ml TEL/Gal 4.0 ml TEL/Gal

2.0 ml TEL/Gal

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Unleaded Fuel – No Easy Solution

• Decades of trying to find a “drop-in” solution but none found

• Very technically complex problem, quality control, and performance required

• Solution must be safe, reliable, and affordable

• Regulatory pressure – FAA and EPA

• Only one supplier of Lead worldwide

• Avgas is a specialty product, less than one-tenth of 1% of auto gas

• In 1989 32 refineries made Avgas, today only 10 (US & Canada)

• Economic Risk – Expensive to find solution for a relatively small market

• Not economically feasible to have more than one grade of Avgas

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Engines – Aviation vs. Auto

Lead (TEL) is the component is Avgas that establishes the Octane.

Lead prevents fuel from pre-igniting under compression before spark plugs fire.This is pre-ignition is called “detonation” (“knock” in auto engines).

The octane number is a measure of the fuel’s anti-knock performance.

Automobile engines – 80-90% of the time the power demand is low.

Aircraft engines are under a load all the time.

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Aviation Fleet Fuel Requirements

Low Compression – Many certified on 80 Octane

High Compression – Certified on 100 Octane

70% of the fleet in numbers.

30% of the fleet in numbers.

30% of the fuel consumption.

70% of the fuel consumption.

170,000 Aircraft in US Fleet230,000 Worldwide Fleet

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Prop 65 & CEH Lawsuit

• 1985 Proposition 65 becomes law

• May 2011 CEH issues “Notice of Violation” under Prop 65

> Seeks to ban the sale of leaded Avgas in California

• June 2011 NATA forms Joint Defense Group (FBO’s & Fuel Distributors)

• June 2011 Defense Group files suit against CEH (dismissed)

• Oct. 2011 CEH files suit against FBO’s & Fuel Distributors

• Nov. 2014 CEH lawsuit settled;

• Terms; 1. Warning Signs & Messages

2. TEL no more than .56gr./L

3. Sell Very Low Lead (VLL) if available

4. Sell Unleaded (100UL) when available

5. Sell Mogas unless prohibited

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What about Auto Gas aka Mogas?

• Ethanol – Not allowed in Auto Gas per FAA approved STC’s.• Senate requires Ethanol to reduce CO² emissions.• No refiner will extend aviation products liability insurance to auto gas.• Hard to find non-ethanol gas is not distributed to aviation standards

although priced similar to Avgas.• Does not meet the requirement of the aircraft that use 70% of the volume.• EAA and the rest of industry agree we need a solution that meets the

needs of the entire fleet.

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Unleaded Aviation Gasoline – Testing

• Octane / Performance Number

• Vapor Pressure

• Freezing Point

• Materials Compatibility

• Electrical Conductivity

• Emissions and Toxicity

• Storage Life

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Unleaded Fuel – No Easy Solution

Worst Case ScenariosFuel does not meet performance requirements. Expensive engine modifications required for new unleaded fuel. De-rating engine and/or reducing payload.

No high octane unleaded fuel passes testing. Fleet permanently grounded until a whole new class of large-displacement engines can be developed capable of generating 320 to 400 HP on diesel fuel or other unleaded, non-ethanol fuel.

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Joint Industry/Government Partnership

Piston Aviation Fuel Initiative - PAFI

Joint industry-government partnership formed in 2010 to test and approve an unleaded avgas suitable for the existing fleet, develop a new ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) specification for refining it and address the business case for deploying it into the field.

Members• AOPA – Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association• EAA – Experimental Aircraft Association• GAMA – General Aviation Manufacturers Association• NATA – National Air Transportation Association• NBAA – National Business Aircraft Association• API – American Petroleum Institute

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Road Map to an Unleaded Avgas Future

2010 - PAFI Formed

2011 - Charter Signed by FAA.

2012 - FAA opens fuel program office. $12 mil in funding approved by Senate

2013 - FAA Solicits for New Unleaded Fuels

2014 - FAA selects 4 of the 5 candidate fuels submitted

> Swift (2), Shell, and Total

2015 – Phase 1 Testing begins in Test rigs and lab (to be completed by Jan ‘16

2016 – Jan. Select fuels for Phase 2 Testing (maybe 3)

2016 – July – Selected fuels due at FAA Test Center

2017 – Phase 2 Testing begins (actual engine & flight testing)

2018 - Final Reports & FAA Certification. ASTM Certification

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Once the PAFI Technical Evaluation Committee has determined that at least one unleaded avgas candidate meets all the performance and properties requirements, ASTM will issue a “consensus standard” for the new fuel, which can be broadly produced as a commodity. This sets the requirements and characteristics that any refiner could use to develop a competing fuel.

Unleaded Avgas

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Questions?

Michael MooneyV.P. & CRO

Mark WilleyCEO

Mike FranceDirector, Safety &Training

The Future of Avgas