New Av fuel tax proposal

[ChiMike]

www.flyingmag.com/biden-administration-proposes-fivefold-jet-fuel-tax-hike-for-bizjets/

For any aircraft using Jet-A—how are they going to tell the difference between a biz-jet user and a general aviation user?

It’s all just another money grab.

[bigmo]

I’m definitely not a fan of more taxes…but there’s probably not a simpler way to add revenue that will be earmarked for the FAA (and more controllers). One solution is a per person tax on 135 carriers. I expect that could be managed without a ton of drama.

Keeping things in perspective, most business jets use 150-250 gph. Call me crazy, but an extra $200 per hour over the next 5 years isn’t going to ground anyone that can afford to fly a $5k an hour aircraft.

This could push a bit of value back towards turboprops. They burn half the fuel and offer 80% of the performance. Kind of a no brainer…unless one’s Instagram ego is concerned with props.

Unique to Tecnam, isn’t the Centurion series of engines already approved to burn regular diesel? I thought I read that somewhere…maybe it was just Europe???

[swiftse3]

I have a 2010TDI. It will run on diesel, although I have not tried it. There are some limitations regarding fuel temperature, but there is nothing in the POH that I have seen regarding performance differences.

I have also never seen diesel fuel available at an FBO. But if you have a grass strip in your backyard, you could run off road diesel and save a bunch on the taxes.

[bigmo]

That’s very cool to hear. A small FBO could indeed cater to folks that don’t need the extra expense with JET-A. I’m lucky our airfield allows private fuel storage. For about $1k I built a pretty slick trailer that holds 100 gallons, pumps there same speed as a normal gas station, and has a quality filter that’s easy to replace. Just filled it up today at Sam’s @ $2.86.

I spent my college years working line service at a busy FBO. I’ll take the safety and quality of a high volume truck stop over a random FBO anyday.