In my thread "Future 737" I post newsclips on biofuel and alternative fuel development for transport category aircraft, airliners and turboprops. The thread also includes developments in high efficiency turbines, since the two go together.

But there is another front that needs to be covered: the development, testing, and certification of biofuels, alternative fuels, and new engines for General Aviation (GA) aircraft. This thread will move a little slow because there is less money in the field. But it is topic that will have a definite impact on flight school aircraft, light commercial aircraft, and all other aircraft in the category. Diesel and turbo-diesel engines will be covered here as well if it relates.

From today's AOPA EPilot-

Another step taken in search for alternate fuel


Teledyne Continental Motors and Hawker Beechcraft have joined forces to move the search ahead for an alternative to 100LL by testing a 94-octane “no lead” aviation gasoline in flight. A Beechcraft G36 (Garmin G1000-equipped) Bonanza flew several flights, the longest to date lasting one hour, with 94 unleaded fuel that was specially blended for aviation purposes. Although this was heralded by Continental President Rhett Ross as another of his company’s impressive aviation firsts, there may still be a long road ahead in the alternative fuel search. Read more and watch the Bonanza’s first flight with unleaded fuel >>

From AOPA Pilot Dec. 2008-

FAA Tech Center evaluates future fuels

By AOPA ePublishing staff


When it comes to the future of aviation fuels, there’s one place to turn for definitive analysis—the FAA’s Alternative Aviation Fuel and Engine Test Facility, part of the WJH Technical Center, located in New Jersey.
Engineers at the facility are dedicated to working with industry to evaluate fuel options, including possible successors to 100LL avgas.
“I think our facility has been a leader in the area of research to help find a solution—a safe, environmentally friendly solution—to what we all know will eventually go away,” said Dave Atwood, an engineer at the facility who works with a team of seven people to test possible alternatives for leaded avgas.
Not only do they analyze potential fuels developed by universities and oil companies, they also provide guidance that can be used to help develop new fuels to test.

From AOPA Pilot Nov. 2008-

Goodbye Big Blue? The future of avgas

by Dave Hirschman


Pilots have been forewarned of the imminent demise of leaded avgas for many, many years and the blue fuel is still plentiful. So it’s easy to dismiss talk of its looming disappearance now as alarmist rhetoric.
But regulatory and market forces are combining in powerful new ways that may someday force 100LL into extinction. And general aviation companies, including engine and airframe manufacturers, electronics, and petroleum firms, are taking steps to prepare new products designed to allow piston airplanes to keep flying into the future.
“After 20-plus years of research, no silver bullet replacement fuel has yet been found to satisfy the needs of the entire general aviation fleet,” said Rob Hackman, AOPA’s senior director of regulatory affairs. “So a second option that appears more likely would include some sort of engine modification for a portion of the fleet in addition to an unleaded fuel. It remains to be seen whether a bolt-on, FAA-certified, aftermarket solution will become available at a realistic price. AOPA members are the end user, and we’re going to continue to make sure their interests are protected. Whatever the industry agrees upon as a replacement to 100LL, it’s got to be safe and legal for the entire fleet to use and allow as much time as needed for the industry to transition.”