We've been talking about the need to find an unleaded replacement for avgas since the United States began phasing out leaded fuels in the early 1970s. Back then we enjoyed economies of scale, as the military and even airlines were big consumers of avgas. Today, that's no longer true, and demand has fallen while prices have gone up. But there's much more to this issue than nostalgia for lower fuel prices, and recent developments in the hunt for an unleaded replacement fuel have brought it one big step closer to reality. On July 1, the FAA closed the window to submit candidate fuels for testing. That's a major milestone because it means we're moving swiftly from asking "Can it work?" to asking "How well does it work?" Nine fuels were submitted by five different groups from around the world, including Afton Chemical Company; Avgas LLC; Shell; Swift Fuels; and a consortium made up of BP, TOTAL, and Hjelmco (see "Briefing," page 28).
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