Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose Now Sells GAMI 100 Octane Unleaded AvGas

November 4, 2024

The following public health announcement was posted on the Santa Clara County website on 10/31/2024. A link to the release is available here.

"The County's actions to remove lead from fuel at its facilities and provide an alternative as soon as possible began after a found elevated lead exposure in 13,000 children living near the airport."

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First in the Nation Reid-Hillview Airport Now Offers 100 Octane Unleaded Aviation Fuel for Retail Sale

The high-octane alternative to hazardous leaded gas is available and usable by all piston-powered aircraft

The new fuel was delivered to Reid-Hillview Airport on Oct. 28, 2024, and full-service truck-to-airplane fueling began on Oct. 30, 2024. With the addition of G100UL, the County now offers aircraft operators two choices in unleaded avgas: G100UL and UL94.

By Eric Kurhi, October 31, 2024

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. – Nearly three years after the County of Santa Clara implemented an unprecedented ban on the sale of toxic leaded aviation fuel at County airports in January 2022, County-run Reid-Hillview Airport set a new benchmark as the first in the nation to offer a lead-free alternative that works in all piston-powered general aviation aircraft: GAMI 100 Octane Unleaded Avgas.

The County began selling the fuel this week, signifying the start of what will be an inevitable national migration to the unleaded formula, as was done in the automotive sector decades ago. The County's actions to remove lead from fuel at its facilities and provide an alternative as soon as possible began after a County-commissioned study found elevated lead exposure in 13,000 children living near the airport.

"This is a victory for the children and families on the East Side who have been historically marginalized and whose voices, and legitimate health concerns, have been disregarded for too long," said Supervisor Cindy Chavez, whose district includes the East Side neighborhood of San José where the airport is located. "My deepest hope is that leaded aviation fuel is phased out of every general aviation airport in the U.S."

Santa Clara County replaced the typical leaded avgas, 100 Low Lead or 100LL, in January 2022 with Swift UL94, a 94-octane unleaded avgas. UL94 is FAA-certified for use in approximately 68 percent of the piston-powered aircraft of the type that use Reid-Hillview and San Martin airports. G100UL provides an alternative to 100LL for the general aviation fleets that could not utilize UL94, including high-performance aircraft.

"With the availability of this unleaded aviation fuel, there's clearly no reason to continue using a product that is the single greatest source of airborne lead pollution," said County Executive James R. Williams. "We know that there's no safe level of lead exposure, and we know that neighborhoods surrounding airports are usually low-income with large minority populations. Removing this health risk is a matter of environmental justice, and we hope to see other airports across the nation embrace this new alternative."

GAMI is offering an incentive for Bay Area pilots to purchase the required Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) by November 1, 2024. More information can be found at https://files.santaclaracounty.gov/exjcpb1466/2024-10/gami-incentive-notification-2024-10-29.pdf?VersionId=8FyhovzCzY7SKKMpRg6RRG3.GmFpEskt.

The new fuel was delivered to Reid-Hillview Airport on Monday, and full-service truck-to-airplane fueling began on Wednesday. With the addition of G100UL, the County now offers aircraft operators two choices in unleaded avgas: G100UL and UL94.

"Offering G100UL to our airport users has been years in the making," said Eric Peterson, Director of County Airports. "This fueling alternative positions RHV as the first airport in the nation to offer unleaded aviation fuel for the entire general aviation community and we are pretty excited about that."

The price for full-service fuel delivery is $6.99 per gallon. Reid-Hillview fueling hours are seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.