Thu, Jun 23, 2011
Second Meeting Held Last Month, Panel Will Next Meet In
July
The Unleaded Avgas Transition Aviation Rulemaking Committee
(UAT-ARC) met for the second time on May 17 - 19, 2011, in
Washington D.C. As with the first meeting in March, 20 members of
the committee from FAA, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
equipment manufacturers, fuel producers, fuel distributors, and
owners/operators attended. Key stakeholders from the general
aviation and avgas community are using this forum to take the
initial steps towards finding alternatives to leaded avgas.
The committee members built upon the results from the first
meeting and subsequent discussions, and focused their time refining
the key avgas issues and associated tasks intended to address those
issues. In support of this effort, the group formulated an
underlying conceptual structure around which to organize the issues
and tasks. This effort formed the building blocks for the
industry-government group that will evolve from this committee.
Before the committee's final recommendations are put forward, a
preview of key discussion topics will provide insight into the
approach the committee is employing to address this challenging
issue. These key discussion topics include:
- The formation of an industry-government group and framework
that will facilitate, promote, and track the development,
qualification, certification, and deployment of candidate unleaded
fuels. This group would stimulate and facilitate the overall
unleaded avgas transition effort.
- The establishment of project gates or readiness levels that can
be used to evaluate and track the developmental progress of
candidate unleaded fuels from concept through distribution and
use.
- The establishment of supporting facilities, tools, methods, and
procedures that could be implemented to accelerate the development
and deployment of unleaded avgas.
The committee also discussed potential legal challenges related
to leaded aviation fuel, which highlight the urgency of the
committee's task.
During the meeting, there was strong consensus that an extension
of the charter end date was needed beyond July 31, 2011. In
recognition of the importance of this effort, FAA promptly took
action and extended the term of the charter by six months to
January 31, 2012. The UAT-ARC will strive to complete its work and
issue a recommended plan well before this new date. The FAA
appreciates the significant dedication of time and resources by the
members of the UAT-ARC to meet their aggressive schedule.
The next meeting is scheduled for mid-July, followed by a public
presentation at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI in late July. The FAA
will also periodically report on the progress of this committee at
this website.
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