FAA’s Rocheleau Admits Unleaded Avgas Timeline May Slip

FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau suggested during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this week that the timeline for unleaded fuel would be pushed back and stressed that the FAA would not move forward without ensuring any aviation gasoline drop-in replacement is safe.

During a Meet the FAA Administrator session yesterday, Rocheleau was asked whether the government-industry EAGLE coalition will meet the Dec. 31, 2030 deadline to replace leaded avgas with an unleaded fuel. The goal is to make a suitable alternative to leaded 100LL avgas available for all piston aircraft engines by the deadline. EAGLE stands for Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions initiative.

“We don't do this in a vacuum,” Rocheleau said. “We have been working very closely with the different community members and associations to make sure that we're going to do this carefully, intentionally, and not say, ‘Well, this is a solution, and we’ll call it a day.’ The timeline is aggressive. In the coming weeks, we're going to issue a new roadmap to reset what I think expectations are.”

Rocheleau added that he's learned since becoming deputy administration that as soon as a date is set, someone changes it. "So part of this is making sure that we're working with the EAGLE participants," he continued. "I think it’s aggressive, and I can tell you with confidence we’re not going to set an arbitrary date that says, ‘Well, this is what it says, without making sure that whatever we're going to put in those aircraft isn't safe.’”

That said, Rocheleau does have concerns about other facets of this problem. “I feel comfortable being part of the EAGLE program that the testing timelines will be met. I think the more complicated part of that puzzle is the petroleum manufacturers, as to what it's going to take them to potentially convert their factories to be able to produce in the field, and then the distribution process.”

Fuel experts have told AIN that it will take 18 to 24 months to ramp up the distribution network, although unleaded fuel manufacturer Swift Fuels is already delivering its fuel to a number of airports in the U.S. and Europe and says it can grow its distribution network much faster.

In any case, the FAA reauthorization bill that reinforced the avgas deadline does, he added, “ensure that there will continue to be leaded fuel available until that successful transition takes place, no matter what the date [is].” While people worry that tetraethyl lead manufacturer Innospec will stop making that product, which is the essential component of leaded avgas, Rocheleau said, “That’s not the case.”