I'm new to gas engines and a friend in my club told me to be careful about which gas I should use. He said that recently, here in Canada, there is no longer ethanol free gasoline. Shell used to have ethanol free in their premium gas but it now has ethanol. According to my friend ethanol can affect the fuel lines making them stiff and brittle. A real problem especially for the lines in the fuel tank which have to be flexible for the fuel clunks. Ethanol free gas is sold in places like Home Depot but is expensive and is close to the cost of a gallon of glow fuel! Is there any way around this? Maybe a gas additive or different type of fuel line that is unaffected by ethanol?

Good and bad news.
Yes ethanol free is best, I love it we have it all over because of the rivers the boat guys use it.

Engines with the newer seals and pump diaphragms are designed to combat this but if your alternative is to use ethanol based gas, plan to do carb and tank maintenance yearly

People use ethanol spiked gas in all our cars, garden equipment etc. for years with no problem. I personally use it in my F250, Escape, snow blower, weedwackers, lawnmowers, large and small boat motors, pressure washer, motorcycles etc. etc. for years and years with no problems. I also use it in my gas models again no problems. Older model motors have had the carbs rebuilt with newer gasket sets that are supposed to be alky proof. The only precaution I take is to use a stabilizer for long term storage (over the winter) and I always have run the gas out of the carb until the motor quits after every use. Not with the boat and vehicle motors though as they are being constantly used at least several times a week.

I have never noticed anything that would indicate ethanol related damage. At first there may have been the odd problem however after all this time I think the few issues have been worked out. I think you guys who insist on having problems may be more related to operator error rather than the ethanol content. Heck I have run and tuned gas motors to run on hobby methanol and oil mix with great results and signifigant power and RPM improvements. I have even retuned these model gas motors to run on camp fuel and oil mix.

The average user of these trimmers and blowers just put gas in them and run them. Most don't even do anything to winterize them, most just put them in the shed till next usage with no storage prep. You may be overthinking this guys.

The best thing to do is run your engine out of gas after each flying session. For the tank use Viton for the internal lines and they stay flexible forever.
Been doing this for years and never have to do any annual maintenance.

Electrons don't have an ethanol issue.

Coleman lantern fuel is essentially ethanol free, lead free gasoline. If it is available where you are, you can look at it as gasoline without all of the additives. It is also possible to "wash out" the ethanol. It is more soluble in water than in gasoline. Add water, agitate, and then allow the water/ethanol solution to settle to the bottom and skim off the now ethanol free (or at least reduced ethanol) gas. Your mileage may vary and test before flying.