Swift Fuels Unleaded Update At AirVenture

Swift Fuels CEO Chris d’Acosta told an AirVenture forum on Monday that about 35,000 gallons of its 100R unleaded avgas has been burned so far, mostly in a training fleet of Cessna 172 R and S models, and there have been no mechanical or materials compatibility issues. Swift got an STC for 100R that covered only those two models of Cessna and cut a deal with a flight school in California to supply its fuel. The fuel didn’t just perform well, it also cut the level of engine metals in the oil by a large margin and the flight school owner told the crowd, by phone link, that he’s looking forward to fueling the rest of his fleet with 100R.

d’Acosta said that to that end an ASTM specification for 100R is imminent and an expanded approved model list is on the way and it will soon be able to supply 75 percent of the piston fleet with high octane unleaded fuel. The company’s 94UL, which has been available for about 10 years, will be replaced with the 100R when it’s approved. About 75 percent of engines can use 94UL so the plan is to simply substitute the higher octane fuel in the “94UL footprint” once those approvals are in. He told the audience the new approvals will cover about 1100 different piston engines and 1500 airframes.

The remaining 25 percent are more complicated. About 60 percent of that slice of the pie chart are what he calls “the 550s,” six-cylinder engines in singles and light twins that fill the gap between the engines that are quite happy on 94 UL and the ultra high performance boosted sixes that will be the toughest to fuel with unleaded. Testing will begin later this year on a Continental 550 and d’Acosta said it will take about 18 months.