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).

At the 2014 NBAA International Operators Conference Robin Leach and Pat Dunn delivered the South Pacific presentation which included a list of common mistakes made by business aviation flight crews flying the SoPac routes. Here is an abridged version: Not updating ETAs when early or late by at more than three minutes. Not reporting reaching new assigned flight level when cleared to change. (Until verification is received, ATC blocks off intermediate flight levels.)

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