At the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) meeting in Washington, D.C., recently, the blockbuster announcement was that the industry and the FAA are 100 behind 100 Low Lead aviation gasoline going away and transitioning to nothing but unleaded aviation fuels by 2030, which is a little less than nine years away.The announcement was made by outgoing FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, a parting gift to aviation, perhaps, as he vacates the agency to spend time with the grandkids.If you're shaking your head that this kind of industry-wide commitment is only happening now instead of decades ago, I'm with you. Aviation is a dinosaur, insofar as our use of lead additives in our gasoline is concerned. The automotive industry turned to unleaded fuel in a major way starting in the mid-1970s. By the mid-80s, leaded auto fuels represented less than 10 percent of the fuel used. By 1992, California, the nation's largest car market and de facto regulator of many things automotive, including fuel economy and emissions, had banned leaded auto fuel. By 1996, it was banned throughout the United States. That was 26 years ago now. Leaded fuel was almost entirely phased out 10 years earlier, and 10 years before that, it was no secret to anyone that lead was on its way out more than than 40 years ago.
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