California will have a very large fleet of gasoline cars in 2035. If this B.S. holds, I suspect there will be conventional dealerships just across the state line at every major highway.
Not to pick nits unnecessarily here, but will application of the blanket STCs for G100UL and UL94 also pertain to engines that have been modified under various other STCs. A popular example is the 150 HP Lyc. 0-320-E3D (found in later Piper Cherokee 140’s and early Warriors) that were modified to 160 HP under a RAM STC. That STC requires that the modified engines use “100 or 100LL Avgas Only.” For this example G100UL might not pose any “STC conflict,” but UL94 might. If the blanket fuel STCs are something less than “blanket,” it would be prudent for operators of all sorts of STC-modified engines to review the fuel requirements specified in their STCs and resolve any conflicts.
There seems to be a lot of exotic chemicals in the GAMI 100UL. I think it is great that there is an approved 100 UL fuel now, however I think I will wait until there is some field experience before putting any in my airplanes.
“One size fits all” has hurt GA in many ways over the years. Fuels, maintenance, certification, and more…
Maybe so but they’ll disallow anyone from licensing a vehicle when it’s new AND for a period of time after being acquired new. They’ve already done that.
EV’s for thee and ICE’s for the governator, et al 
Sounds like they are attempting to regulate interstate commerce.
We have a local drag strip and drivers often visit the airport to fill up jerry cans of “aviation gasoline”. At least two independent gas stations near the track stock 100 octane fuel.
Heck, even our local Sheetz is now stocking, I think it’s 94 octane, ethanol free fuel.
So yes, there may be other niche markets to be captured.
Agree wholeheartedly. George and Tim’s track record as engineers goes further than just G100UL. What they did for the Beechcraft T-34 after the “fighter pilot for a day” folks ripped the wings off three of them is a story everyone needs to know. They engineered simple but elegant AMOCs that they tested on their own dime and produced data the FAA couldn’t deny. George and Tim deserve every bit of recognition that comes their way. How about it AVWeb?
“G100UL will be selling into a market where 100LL will be cheaper by an unknown amount probably around 50 to 80 cents.”
Doubtful, more like $3 more for G100UL.
Read carefully what GAMI wrote about price:
“Current best estimates are that G100UL avgas will cost 60-85 cents/gallon more than 100LL as the fuel leaves the producer’s facility and begins to enter the stream of commerce. Estimates are based on crude oil pricing at 40-60 dollars/barrel, and will vary with the price of crude oil.”
Using average numbers from above: $0.73 more with crude oil at $50.
Crude oil is now $95. That’s a 90% increase. Premium scales with oil prices. $0.73 becomes $1.39.
The price is “as the fuel leaves the producer’s facility”. That is, wholesale before transportation, taxes, flowage fees, and markup. Those factors will easily increase the premium by 70% and could double the price in some cases. $1.39 become $2.36.
The estimate above fails to disclose the underlying assumption of production scale. Is this the price on day one or some distant future price after all transition costs have been paid for and the entire 100LL market is G100UL? One can reasonable expect the estimate assumes some scale of production that will not exist on day one, so the price will be higher still.
The average price of 100LL is just about $7. When G100UL hits the market, I expect it will be $10 if crude oil prices remain the same as today. A $0.50 premium for G100UL just does not compute, the premium is already way over that at the production site.
Beyond price, the next big question is liability. Who is going to get sued when a G100UL using airplane crashes? It will happen, whether justified or not.
Things to think about.
I’ve heard that G100UL weighs in at 4-6% heavier than 100LL.
If true then is a GW increase part of the STC?
During the Clinton Administration when people began to flee Kalyfornya for places like Nevada, the CA Franchise Tax Board actually used strong arm tactics and intimidation trying to get people who HAD worked in CA but retired and moved away to pay taxes in CA even though they were no longer residents. You know … “taxation without representation.” Pres. Clinton and the Congress actually passed legislation that said that YOU – the person in question – determines your domicile and therefore your tax situation.
How about a useful load DECREASE? Certificated gross weight can’t be changed just because the weight might be a tad heavier.
Lots of STC’s increase GW by 5% as part of the mod. At least that way the new fuel does not have the double-whammy of both higher price AND a useful load DECREASE.
Assuming 100LL is 6lb/gal, G100UL at 5% heavier would be 6.3lb/gal. At 72 gallons (the capacity of the Dakota I fly), the difference is about 22lbs. Or just over 14lbs at 48 gallons. So yes, you do lose some payload but in most cases it won’t make a significant difference.
Many airports prohibit tenants from bringing in outside fuel in containers, and on the east coast, UL94 airports are few and far between. The Mogas STC makes sense in some cases, but in many cases it does not simply because it is so difficult to obtain the fuel in many areas.
The new fuel has higher energy density, so the increased weight is partly offset by greater range.
Do you have any documentation to that effect? From what I’ve seen it’s teh same (or less) energy density.
??
Here’s an AvWeb article from 12 years ago:
https://www.avweb.com/insider/flying-g100ul-yeah-it-works/
Quote:
“It’s a little heavier than avgas–6.4 pounds compared to 6.0 pounds–but it has higher energy density so it’s within a couple of percentage points of being a wash.”
There are no exotic chemicals in G100UL. The BTUs of the constituent components are well known and easily calculated.
What have you ‘seen’ that says it has the same or less energy density? I suspect the source of such an assertion would benefit from spreading FUD (Fear-Uncertainty-Doubt) about G100UL.
And may even be an incentive to clean out the accumulated non-essential ‘stuff’ out of the baggage compartment, under the seat, in the seat pockets…ya think?