Ethanol Mandate for Iowa?

Today Rep. Jim Nussle -- potentially the future governor of Iowa -- was
reported as proposing that all gasoline sold in Iowa be required to contain
20% ethanol additive. Presumably, this legislation, if passed, would make
the sale of regular unleaded gasoline illegal in Iowa.

See the story he
http://press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.d...509270309/1079

As those involved in grass-roots aviation know, this would be another nail
in the coffin of General Aviation in Iowa. Without the availability of
regular unleaded gasoline -- a fuel that many have seen as the savior of
General Aviation, since the discontinuation of 80 octane aviation fuel
production -- many would be forced to run 100 octane aviation fuel, because
ethanol-based fuels are not approved for use in aircraft engines.

This would be a disaster for many of us. Small carbureted aircraft engines
were quite simply never designed to run on 100 octane aviation fuel, which
contains far more lead than our engines need, costs 30% to 50% more than
regular unleaded fuel, and causes engine problems for many of us.

Personally, I have run over 6,000 gallons of regular unleaded gasoline
through our airplane, at an average savings of over $1.00 per gallon. I
know dozens of aircraft owners who have done the same -- and I also know
that, for many, losing that savings would be the difference between flying
and not flying. This legislation, if passed, would ground those pilots,
and would effectively put general aviation beyond the means of many current
pilots in Iowa.

Below is a letter I have sent to Rep. Nussle. I urge everyone to send
similar letters to Mr. Nussle, as I don't believe he is aware of the
potentially GA-crippling side-effect of his proposed legislation.

Contact him he http://nussle.house.gov/contact.htm

Thanks for your help -- and blue skies!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Dear Rep. Nussle,

Your recent call for mandating that all gasoline sold in Iowa contain
ethanol.

I understand your position, but there is a negative aspect about your
proposal that you may not be aware of: It could kill grass-roots General
Aviation in the state.

How? Most small airplanes (Pipers, Cessnas, etc.) have carburetors, and
were designed to run on 80 octane aviation fuel. Since 1999 (or so), this
fuel has been unavailable. The oil companies simply stopped making it.

After that, we were forced to start using 100 aviation gas. Unfortunately,
this fuel has 14 times more lead in it than our engines were designed to run
on. As a result, our engines ran rough and spark plugs were badly fouled.
This was a dangerous situation, to say the least.

Luckily, the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association, based in Oshkosh, WI)
stepped up to the plate, and was able (after extensive testing) to get
regular unleaded auto gas approved for use in our planes. No more rough
running engines, no more fouled spark plugs -- and it was MUCH less
expensive to run. In fact, usually the savings ran to over $1 per gallon!
(When you're burning 15 gallons per hour, this is significant.)

Unfortunately, the EAA was NOT able to get the use of ethanol approved in
our aircraft engines. This means that we can ONLY run "pure" unleaded gas.
Use of any ethanol additives is specifically prohibited by the FAA.

Thus, as you can see, if you make regular unleaded gasoline unavailable in
Iowa, you will make it impossible for many of us to fly our small
airplanes -- surely an unintended side effect of your otherwise worthy idea!

Please continue to sponsor legislation that makes ethanol- gasoline cheaper
than regular unleaded gasoline. This, in my opinion, is the very best way
to get EVERYONE to use ethanol. Mandating that regular unleaded be illegal
is simply not the way to do business in Iowa, and I hope I've given you one
good reason why this is true.

Sincerely,

Jay Honeck
Owner/Innkeeper
The Alexis Park Inn & Suites
Iowa City, IA

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:b3c_e.369489$x96.190155@attbi_s72...
Today Rep. Jim Nussle -- potentially the future governor of Iowa -- was
reported as proposing that all gasoline sold in Iowa be required to
contain 20% ethanol additive. Presumably, this legislation, if passed,
would make the sale of regular unleaded gasoline illegal in Iowa.

See the story he
http://press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.d...509270309/1079

I agree with you Jay.

His website states:
"Due to the large volume of messages I receive daily from every state and
across the world, I am only able to accept email from Iowans at the current
time. If you live outside of Iowa or if you need to contact me using another
communication method."

Being only 10 miles from Iowa, he doesn't want to hear from me via E-mail.
I'll send off a snail-mail. I forwarded your message to my Iowa friends.

-Greg B.

N93332 wrote:

His website states:
"Due to the large volume of messages I receive daily from every state and
across the world, I am only able to accept email from Iowans at the current
time.

I wonder how he accomplishes this?

--
Peter
























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"Peter R." wrote in message
...
N93332 wrote:

His website states:
"Due to the large volume of messages I receive daily from every state and
across the world, I am only able to accept email from Iowans at the
current
time.

I wonder how he accomplishes this?

From his website http://nussle.house.gov/email.htm asks for a valid Iowa
zipcode. I suppose an Iowa zipcode could be entered...

-Greg B.

Wisconsin has a 10% proposal on the agenda. What are car gas pilots in MN,
MT, HI doing? My understanding is that those states already have the
mandate.
Jim

C'mon Jay, "disaster for many of us?" I doubt a dollar per gallon increase
would stop you from flying. Most folks are still flying even with the
dramatic increases in AvGas prices from just a few years ago. Any aircraft
owner with a financial buffer that thin won't be one for very long (or at
least have an airworthy aircraft).

Yes, it sucks wind and you should fight it but don't get all drama queen on
us

Marco Leon

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:b3c_e.369489$x96.190155@attbi_s72...
Today Rep. Jim Nussle -- potentially the future governor of Iowa -- was
reported as proposing that all gasoline sold in Iowa be required to
contain
20% ethanol additive. Presumably, this legislation, if passed, would make
the sale of regular unleaded gasoline illegal in Iowa.

See the story he

http://press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.d...509270309/1079

As those involved in grass-roots aviation know, this would be another nail
in the coffin of General Aviation in Iowa. Without the availability of
regular unleaded gasoline -- a fuel that many have seen as the savior of
General Aviation, since the discontinuation of 80 octane aviation fuel
production -- many would be forced to run 100 octane aviation fuel,
because
ethanol-based fuels are not approved for use in aircraft engines.

This would be a disaster for many of us. [snip]



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Great idea.

Wrong approach. By using the argument "GA will become economically
unfeasible -- we won't be able to fly" there's the impression of
whining. You need to make the economic argument of *why* GA is so
important to Iowa. Get the economic impact assessments from your
state Dept. of Transportation. Point out the money that is brought into
the communities of each of the smaller non-commercial access airports.
Get the figures from Angel Flight of the number of flights within,
into and out of the Iowa area.

You absolutely MUST make the economic argument and NOT the "it'll be
too expensive for me to play with my toys" complaint.

Marco Leon wrote:
C'mon Jay, "disaster for many of us?" I doubt a dollar per gallon
increase would stop you from flying. Most folks are still flying even
with the dramatic increases in AvGas prices from just a few years
ago. Any aircraft owner with a financial buffer that thin won't be
one for very long (or at least have an airworthy aircraft).

Yes, it sucks wind and you should fight it but don't get all drama
queen on us



"Everywhere, every day on the radio, television, and in the newspapers, all
I
hear is how the "Record Price of Oil" is killing America.

Yet, strangely, Americans keep driving *more*. And I don't see anyone
flying less."

"Get out and fly, people! Life is good!"

- from the "Stop Whining, America" thread.

The governor is just going with the votes. There are more folks growing
corn for ethanol than flying GA in Iowa. Ethanol is the ultimate
political boondoggle as it costs more BTUs to manufacture than it
provides.

One of those have your cake and eat it things. No ethanol, no Iowa as
the farmers claim they need ethanol to prosper and make Iowa a "good"
place to live and work.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:b3c_e.369489$x96.190155@attbi_s72...
Today Rep. Jim Nussle -- potentially the future governor of Iowa --
was reported as proposing that all gasoline sold in Iowa be required
to contain 20% ethanol additive. Presumably, this legislation, if
passed, would make the sale of regular unleaded gasoline illegal in
Iowa.

Despite the fact that mandating ethanol blends would be bad for you, it's
really better for the country in general. Using ethanol, along with
biodiesel, can go along way towards making our country less dependant on
foreign oil. I'm torn. I want some sort of alternate fuel to be
developed for my airplane, but it would also be great to tell the middle
east to kiss our ass. Presently, the autogas STC for my 160hp Cherokee is
fairly expensive (~$1500 last time I checked), and it requires you to use
premium unleaded, so the cost savings isn't quite as much. I haven't
been able to verify whether Maryland requires an ethanol blend, but I
think it does, so even if I went back to 150hp pistons, I'd still be
screwed. Anyway, using ethanol and biodiesel is a great idea. I've even
considered trading my commuter car for some model of VW diesel so that I
can burn biodiesel. I think that increasing the percentage of ethanol to
as high as a normal car can stand, is also a good idea. Sounds like
Rep. Nussie isn't that crazy.

--- Jay


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