The Oceanic Division of Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center extends from the U.S. West Coast to 130 deg. E longitude and from 05 deg. South latitude to just above 56 deg. N latitude, covering a staggering 18.7 million sq. mi. of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Chris Strand, lead pilot for Amway Corporation’s BBJ and a member of the NBAA International Operations Committee, learned a few things about fuel reserves when flying the Pacific as a navigator in Navy EP3s (the electronic warfare version of the venerable Lockheed P3, the navalized variant of the four-engine Electra turboprop).

The Piston Aviation Fuel Initiative, a joint industry-government partnership, could result in a technically feasible and economically viable unleaded avgas.