The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) sponsored a Symposium entitled Future Fuels for General Aviation Intermittent Combustion Engines[1] held on 29 June 1988, in Baltimore, Maryland. This event prompted the formation of an ASTM D02 Subcommittee J Section 2 Future Fuels For General Aviation Task Group [2], that successfully capped a ten year effort with the recent publication of ASTM D 6227-98 Standard Specification for Grade 82 Unleaded Aviation Gasoline [3].
This paper reflects on the Grade 82 UL Aviation Gasoline Specification development program[4,5], beginning with fundamental questions related to the quality of available feed stocks. It includes results of studies and tests undertaken by the Cessna Aircraft Company to demonstrate the feasibility of using the fuel described by the Specification in aircraft designed for its use. Additionally, it includes results of studies and tests undertaken at the request of ASTM D02 Subcommittee J on Aviation Fuels members during the Specification development process. [4,5]