The majority of our fleet operates with turbine engines which run on JetA fuel which is essentially a refined grade of kerosene and does not contain lead. The backbone of our fleet are our Turbine Otters which utilize JetA as do our Turbine Beavers. Our piston Beaver fleet of planes and our trainers use 100 octane low lead fuel. All of our land based planes are turbines and also utilize Jet A.
Leaded fuel plays 2 key roles in aircraft engines, first as a lubricant and secondly as an octane boosting element.
Engines receive FAA approval with stipulations for approved fuel characteristics. Changing to a new fuel outside of those characteristics requires engine manufacturer and FAA approval.
Our fuel supplier, Philips 66 Aviation, has been researching and developing two solutions to the leaded aviation fuel issue with an unleaded fuel product as well as a new product called 100M with manganese replacing the lead. More information on these solutions may be found here: Unleaded Avgas, Phillips 66 Aviation – TrustedFuel.com
The 100M solution is the most promising and is expected to be available in 26/27. This solution would not require FAA variances to use.
Kenmore Air is committed to making this change when the fuels become commercially available.