Those are the only aircraft configurations covered by the STC, but Swift says that’s only the beginning. The breakthrough was first reported by Aviation Week.

Swift Fuels is managing a comprehensive program targeting the global replacement for 100LL within three to five years, said Swift CEO Chris D’Acosta.

“Our 100R unleaded avgas product will be the preferred fuel to eliminate toxic lead from avgas,” D’Acosta said. “We are actively working with industry and OEMs on FAA-certifications and ASTM International specifications. Yes, the FAA recently approved a critical part of our engine and airframe (STC) certification program.  This follows a similar FAA/ ASTM approval pattern we architected for UL94 avgas over nine years ago.”

The 172s captured by the STC are the newest in the fleet. The R model was launched in 1996 as the first fuel-injected platform. It was produced through 2012, and the engine was limited to 2,400 rpm and produced 160 horsepower. The S model has the same engine, but its rpm limit is 2,600 and rated at 180 horsepower.

According to Lycoming’s service instruction, specifying approved fuels, that engine is the most flexible when it comes to what makes it go. In addition to 100LL and other 100 octane leaded aviation fuels, it can use 91 and 94UL aviation fuels and 93 AKI mogas.

D’Acosta did not specify what engine and airframe combinations might be next.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb

The post FAA Grants Swift Fuels STC for 100R Avgas appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

As reported by FLYING last week, UND resumed the use of 100LL after noting “exhaust valve recession” in the Lycoming engines that power its fleet of Piper PA-28-181 Archers and PA-44-180 Seminoles.

According to UND chief instructor Jeremy Roesler, the school’s 120 aircraft used unleaded fuel between June and October, logging more than 46,000 flight hours. When routine maintenance detected abnormal exhaust valve recession, Roesler said the decision was made to revert back to 100LL as a precaution while the issue was investigated. UND is working with Lycoming and Swift Fuels to address the concern.

“We appreciate feedback from all customers related to the use of fuels in Lycoming engines,” Lycoming told FLYING. “Our team is proactively evaluating the data received from the University of North Dakota Aerospace related to the use of UL94 Fuels, and we will provide appropriate guidance to the industry based on our analysis of this data. Lycoming remains committed to the FAA EAGLE initiative of eliminating lead emissions from piston-engine aircraft by the end of 2030.”

According to Chris D’Acosta, CEO of Swift Fuels, the company became aware of the issue at UND when it was contacted by Lycoming Engines. Immediately, the fuel manufacturer and supplier “went through an audit check.” This means testing fuel from the production facility and all the tanks, both stationary and used in transport, to make sure there was no contamination. None was found, D’Acosta said, adding, “The fuel was on spec.”

The investigation is very thorough, according to D’Acosta, adding that Lycoming is running it and will be “looking at the materials used in the valves, the valve seat, the head of the valve stem, the flight operations telemetry—that’s a fancy way of saying the conditions the flight was operated under.“

Swift Fuels holds an AML-STC FAA approval for UL94 fuel, which each owner-operator can purchase and install on their individual eligible aircraft and engines allowing them to use UL94. Aircraft that require a higher octane, with such higher-performance designs making up approximately 30 percent of the general aviation fleet, are still having to use 100LL.

While UND has the option to revert back to 100LL, other schools are not so lucky. Flight schools at Reid-Hillview Airport (KRHV) in San Jose, California, don’t have that option because the facility is owned by Santa Clara County. In January 2022 the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors enacted a ban on leaded fuel sales at the county-sponsored airport,  located on 180 acres in east San Jose. For several years, politicians in the region have called for the airport’s closure, citing alleged safety issues such as lead poisoning from the use of leaded aviation fuel.

The owners of the flight schools at KRHV saw the ban coming. In 2021, a county-funded study into blood lead levels (BLL) of local children allegedly indicated that the BLL of children who live near the airport is attributed in large part to air pollution from piston-powered aircraft that utilize 100LL. In August 2021 the board of supervisors banned the sale of 100LL in Santa Clara County, effectively removing it from both KRHV and San Martin Airport (E16) south of San Jose.

• READ MORE: Aviation Community Livid With Santa Clara County Over Looming 100LL Ban

When the ban went into effect in 2022, the flight schools were already using unleaded fuel, having made the switch to UL94 that summer.

Walt Gyger, the recently retired owner and operator of Trade Winds Aviation, one of the schools at KRHV, was skeptical of the study, noting that it did not take into account lead contamination coming from building materials such as paint and pipes used in the construction of the homes and business in the San Jose area. Many of those were built at a time when the dangers of lead exposure were unknown.

Gyger, who spent 16 years as an FBO owner, said rather than fighting the county on the study results, the flight schools obtained STCs to allow their aircraft to operate on unleaded fuel and made arrangements for Swift Fuels to deliver to the airport.

According to Josh Watson, co-owner of AeroDynamic Aviation at KRHV, the aircraft powered by Lycoming engines were designed to use lower-octane fuel, so putting them on a diet of UL94 was as simple as obtaining the STC and replacarding the aircraft. That was the easy part.

There were logistical challenges transporting fuel from the refinery in Indiana, said Gyger. “The options are by truck or by rail car, which brings it to a terminal and from there to the FBOs,” said Gyger. “A truck can carry eight to 10,000 gallons. A rail car carried 28,000 gallons.”

Unleaded fuel is also more expensive than 100LL, said Gyger, by about $1 per gallon.

“But the flight schools at Reid-Hillview didn’t really have a choice,” said Watson, who in addition to being a pilot holds an A/P/IA certificate. He says his business has also noticed some issues with the valves since the switch to unleaded fuel. The school runs a fleet of 22 aircraft, ranging from Cessna single-engine trainers to Citabrias. It also has a robust maintenance shop and does its maintenance in-house.

“We have to monitor the engine condition very closely,” Watson said. :Around the 1,800-hour range is when the valve issues happen, [and] that’s over the lifespan of the engine. We have noticed some valve recession and some valve deformation and discoloration, and it has made it a little more difficult to run in new cylinders. Typically, the cylinder makes it to TBO (time between overhauls), and we are able to reuse the valve. We can no longer reuse the valve due to valve recession and malformation. When the valve goes out of tolerance, it has to be replaced. We noticed it on a set of brand new cylinders. It is odd for a first run set of cylinders to have a problem like that.”

Other Flight Schools

Gyger recently sold Trade Winds Aviation to American Flight Schools (AFS), which owns several FBOs in California, and ones in Portland, Oregon; Carney, Nebraska; and Centennial, Colorado. All of them are using UL94, according to Danny Smith, chief operating officer for AFS. The fleet is made up of more than 125 aircraft, flying on average 6,000 hours  per month. “Centennial, KAPA, is our largest operation,” Smith said.

According to Smith, when AFS made the switch to unleaded fuel in May, it was very cautious about how it would impact aircraft operations.

“At Centennial, especially in the summer, we experience very high density altitude, sometimes more than 9,000 feet,” Smith said. “We were concerned about performance, but we had no reports of degraded performance from pilots or instructors in aircraft burning UL94. They were still reporting 1,000- to 1,200-feet-per-minute climbs on takeoff.”

In addition, Smith said the aircraft are experiencing lower engine temperatures and less deposits on spark plugs. “The engines are burning cleaner,” he said. “We have not had the experience of UND. There have been no valve recessions.”

Smith noted that, although AFS is paying more for a gallon of UL94 than it did for 100LL, “the operating cost of the fuel is reduced by not having to replace six to eight spark plugs every 100 hours. Spark plugs run about $40 to $60 each, so the cost of maintenance has come down because we don’t have to replace spark plugs contaminated by lead.”

In the meantime, Swift Fuels continues development on a replacement fuel for the higher-performance general aviation engines that require a higher octane for safe and efficient operation. According to D’Acosta, “100R, the 100 octane replacement fuel for 100LL, is going through the steps and stages for approval from the FAA,” adding that the FAA and ASTM international have a long list that you must comply with and specific methods that must be used to show compliance.

Swift Fuels is hopeful 100R will be certified by the end of 2024.

“It is challenging,” D’Acosta said. “There is lots of collaboration and diligence, and safety matters. We are working with county governments, FBOs, pilots, technicians, and mechanics. There are lots of dimensions to get it going. We have been working on 100R for three or four years through a variety of channels. We move at the speed of the FAA and the speed industry. Our goal is to be the global leader in unleaded fuels.”

The post Flight Schools Discuss Getting the Lead Out appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

What Is Valve Recession?

According to Richard Scarbrough, A&P mechanic and contributor to FLYING, “exhaust valve recession is when the valve sits too low in the seat.” If the valve is not properly seated, there can be “blow-by” that can result in an uncommanded loss of engine power and compression and, in worst cases, valve failure.

“Exhaust valve recession can result in valve discoloration—first red, green, then purple. It can also erode the guide,” said Scarbrough, adding that at this time no one has attributed exhaust valve recession to a lack of lead in the fuel.

The Details

According to UND chief instructor Jeremy Roesler, the school switched the fleet back to unleaded fuel over the summer. UND boasts a robust flight training program, with the fleet of more than 120 aircraft logging more than 46,000 flight hours between June and October.

“The aircraft were flown to POH procedures,” Roseler said. “The UL94 fuel was on spec.”

When routine maintenance detected abnormal exhaust valve recession, Roesler said the decision was made to revert back to 100LL while the issue was investigated.

• READ MORE: UND Aerospace Transitions Full Fleet to Unleaded Avgas

“UND is working closely with Lycoming and Swift Fuels, providing them with data for their own evaluation,” he said. “We have sent cylinders to Lycoming for their analysis. Everything is being looked at. The analysis requires time, and we are hopeful good information will result to [facilitate] the move to unleaded avgas.”

According to an article on AVweb by Paul Bertorelli, UND set up a maintenance monitoring program to track any potential challenges with the use of UL94 prior to making the switch. To monitor for cylinder wear, the school conducted regular compression checks on its fleet of Archers and inspected the clearance between the rocker arm and valve stem. If the valve seat is recessing, this clearance will progressively diminish as the valve recedes farther into the cylinder head. If the recession becomes deep enough, the valve won’t close properly against the seat, and power loss or burned valves can result. 

UND director of maintenance Dan Kasowski said the Lycoming-specified minimum clearance is 0.028 inch, and some of the cylinders exceeded this limit.

According to Roesler, when the school started to find issues, it decided to switch back to 100LL because having a potential problem resulting in aircraft down for maintenance in a busy aviation program like UND’s creates an untenable situation.

FLYING reached out to Lycoming for a comment but did not hear back by press time.

UND is not the only busy school to utilize Swift’s UL94. In summer 2021, Walt Gyger, the longtime owner of Trade Winds Aviation at Reid-Hillview Airport (KRHV) in San Jose, California, switched his fleet of Cessna 172s to Swift UL94 in anticipation of a ban on 100LL. Gyger was ahead of the curve, because in August of that year the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to ban leaded fuel at county-owned airports as a means of reducing lead pollution allegedly suspected of coming from the airports. The allegations were triggered by a county-commissioned, peer-reviewed study that linked the ongoing use of leaded fuel with elevated blood lead levels (BLL) in children living near Reid-Hillview. For decades, the medical community has known that lead exposure, especially for children, can lead to cognitive and developmental challenges.

• READ MORE: Aviation Community Livid With Santa Clara County Over Looming 100LL Ban

The ban on the sale of leaded fuel went into effect on January 1, 2022, and NOTAMs were issued for both Reid-Hillview and San Martin (E16), warning pilots that the airports no longer had 100LL for sale. At present, the airnav.com page for KRHV notes “Fuel available: A UL94 and beginning January 1, 2022, 100LL unavailable.”

Gyger and many other pilots expressed skepticism of the board’s interpretation of the lead study, suggesting it really isn’t about the health of local children but rather “the goal of the county to close the airport.” He pointed out that the study did not take into account the lead present in the paint and pipes used in the construction of many of San Jose’s older neighborhoods before the dangers of exposure were fully understood.

Aviation advocacy groups, airport businesses, and pilots, in particular, called the study a “manufactured health crisis” and “political move.”

FLYING contacted both Trade Winds Aviation and AeroDynamic Aviation, the flight schools located at KRHV, and neither reported issues attributed to the use of UL94 in their fleets. FLYING will continue to follow this story.

The post University of North Dakota Stops UL94 Use Following Valve Recession Concerns appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Since June 22, the school’s fleet of 100 aircraft have been running on UL94—a cleaner unleaded fuel alternative developed by Indiana research and design firm—and FLYING Innovation Award winner—Swift Fuels. While other collegiate flight academies, such as Utah Valley University and California Aeronautical University, have also made the switch to unleaded fuel, none have done so to the scale of UND.

• READ MORE: FLYING’s Flight School Guide

“Transitioning our fleet to UL94 continues the long history of UND Aerospace leading the way,” said Robert Kraus, dean of UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. “With our ability to collect and analyze data, both on and off our airplanes and helicopters, we will help the [FAA] with policy development and other collegiate aviation programs and flight training schools who are considering the switch.”

According to Kraus, UND and Swift signed the deal last year but delayed implementation until this year due to the high cost for unleaded fuel.

“Previously, the price of unleaded 94 was higher than the leaded gas we were using,” Kraus said. “It didn’t make sense to make the switch when the price differential was that big. As times have changed over the past year, those prices have come together a little more. The unleaded fuel has come down some, and the older, leaded fuel [price] went up.”

• READ MORE: We’re Getting the Lead Out, Aviation Groups Say

Kraus said the university has gone through all the necessary evaluations and authorizations to operate using the newly introduced fuel.

“We have worked with our aircraft manufacturers but also, more importantly, with the engine manufacturer, and they certified that our aircraft are ok to operate on unleaded fuel,” he said.

Aside from the environmental impacts, UND expects the switch to UL94 will improve maintenance costs for its aircraft and lead to more productivity for student pilots and flight instructors. Adoption of unleaded avgas will increase the span between oil changes and reduce the frequency for replacing spark plugs.

According to Daniel Kasowski, manager of flight support services, the switch to UL94 “will allow UND to increase the required maintenance inspection interval for its aircraft by 25 percent.” Kasowski also noted the school’s aircraft technicians performed 1,432 mandated aircraft inspections in 2022, and the new fuel could reduce that total by roughly 270 per year.

Although UND is one of the schools leading the way for an unleaded future, Kraus said the lack of mass refining is a major obstacle to the widespread adoption of a lead-free aviation fuel. 

“When you look at the amount of aviation fuel produced by refineries, it’s a small blip in how much they make,” he said. “Refineries just don’t see that market as being worth making the switch. The hope is that more airports and flight schools make the switch, and a refinery will pick it up.”

The post UND Aerospace Transitions Full Fleet to Unleaded Avgas appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The coalition is made up of seven aviation stakeholder organizations, and includes the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the Helicopter Association International (HAI), the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API).

In their comments, the coalition emphasized that the elimination of lead from avgas is in the public interest, as it will reduce lead air pollution and applauded the industry’s continued work on an unleaded replacement that will meet both safety performance needs of the U.S. fleet of piston aircraft, as well as FAA regulatory requirements.

Developing Alternatives to 100LL

At the present time there are four high-octane unleaded fuels currently in development and approval by the FAA.

“Each of these fuels attempts to address the critical safety need for high-octane aviation fuel using differing chemical approaches,” the coalition said. “Aircraft and aircraft engines are type certificated by FAA as meeting all the applicable safety requirements for design, airworthiness, and operation. Each type certificated aircraft and engine, by make/model, must be FAA approved to operate on any new or replacement fuel to ensure their continued operational safety.”

• READ MORE: GAMI Gains Avgas STC for Pistons on Unleaded Fuel

The two paths available to obtain FAA approval for new fuel are the traditional FAA aircraft type certification process, such as supplemental type certificates (STC), and the FAA aviation fuel fleet authorization process established by Congress in sec. 565 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 201813.

The coalition noted that approval of the replacement fuel is the first step, the second is creating a commercial pathway for the production and distribution of the unleaded fuel to the airports.

Two fuel developers, General Aviation Modifications Inc. and Swift Fuels Inc. are pursuing STCs. On September 1, 2022, the FAA issued an approved model list supplemental type certificate (AML-STC) to GAMI for G100UL unleaded avgas. According to its website, GAMI anticipates that the production and delivery of G100UL will ramp up this year, with the unleaded avgas becoming more readily available by 2024.

In the meantime, Swift Fuels Inc. delivers a 94-octane unleaded aviation fuel to a limited but growing number of airports for those aircraft that can safely use a lower octane fuel. Swift holds an AML-STC FAA approval for UL94 fuel, which each owner-operator can purchase and install on their individual eligible aircraft and engines allowing them to use UL94.

• READ MORE: Avgas Coalition on Aviation Fuel Pushes for 100LL Bridge

Swift is also developing a high-octane unleaded fuel and is working with the FAA toward certification by the end of 2024.

The emphasis, as outlined in the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative, is the successful transition to lead-free avgas for piston aircraft by the end of 2030 without compromising the safe and efficient operation of the general aviation fleet.

Over the past two years there have been high profile studies down around airports, particularly those in California that attribute lead pollution to local airports. In particular, one in Santa Clara County focused on Reid-Hillview (KRHV) in San Jose.

• READ MORE: Santa Clara County Responds to FAA Informal Investigation

Critics of the study have noted that many of the buildings in the neighborhoods surrounding the airport were constructed in the 1920s and 1930s when lead pipes and lead-based paint were used extensively, and over the decades have been oxidizing. Therefore, it is impossible to conclusively determine the source of lead exposure.

The post We’re Getting the Lead Out, Aviation Groups Say appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Swift Fuels announced the expansion of its high-performance UL94 Unleaded Avgas product into the US Pacific Coast corridor. The expansion will provide dozens of airfields across California with unleaded avgas. Airports in San Mateo, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties will receive this distribution, which builds on the six-year effort by Swift Fuels to provide UL94 unleaded avgas to piston aircraft pilots nationwide.

The company said that currently more than 130,000 aircraft are already FAA-authorized to use the Swift Fuel UL94 unleaded avgas as a “drop-in ready” fuel. Swift’s premium grade UL94 avgas meets ASTM International fuel specification D7547 and can be used in approximately 66 percent of the US piston fleet. Swift’s avgas team is also focused on efforts to finalize the FAA certification of their “100R” high-octane unleaded fuel for use in all piston airplanes currently FAA-approved to utilize 100LL.

Swift Fuels provides aircraft owners with an online search tool to find out if their make/model of aircraft can be flown using UL94 under a supplemental type certificate (STC) sold by Swift. Aircraft whose minimum approved fuel grade is listed as Grade 100LL, Grade 100/130, or Grade 91/96 cannot use Swift Fuels’ unleaded UL94 avgas without purchasing an appropriate STC, if available. For further clarification, please see the FAA’s Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) HQ-16-05 on UL94 aviation gasoline.

Statewide consideration in California continues to grow among municipal airports, the company said. Rayvon Williams, director of the Watsonville Municipal Airport, said, “We’ve conducted multiple surveys of our Watsonville-based owners and operators, along with pilots at surrounding airports, and there is demand for UL94 unleaded avgas in our area across a wide range of aircraft. Taking a leadership position by offering Swift Fuels’ UL94 to our tenants and itinerant visitors will be a ‘win-win’ on multiple fronts; both for the improved aircraft operation and the environment.”

“General aviation needs a piston fuel alternative that ensures a future that does not include leaded fuels,” said Dan DeMeo, CEO of Rabbit Aviation Services in San Mateo county. “Working with our airport management and elected county supervisors, we drafted the first agreement to supply a lead-free avgas alternative in the state of California, and it’s imperative that others support this critical effort. Our pilots and our community see a large positive benefit to using UL94.”

Chris D’Acosta, CEO of Swift Fuels said, “Swift Fuels’ UL94 is the only commercially available unleaded avgas in the US,” though it is soon to be joined by GAMI’s G100UL following the announcement at Oshkosh. “It’s sold nationwide, it’s commercially insured for aviation, and frankly, pilots who use it love it. Our multi-year initiative to educate the market on the benefits of unleaded avgas can only happen with the ongoing support of forward-thinking regulators, aircraft/engine OEMs, pilots, airports, municipalities, airport boards, and supply chain folks. Swift Fuels has been collaborating with hundreds of pilots in counties across California for months to make this expansion plan come about. We are extremely proud to have our UL94 avgas available for piston aircraft to serve customers and communities across the California marketplace.”

The post Swift Fuels Expands UL94 Distribution to Several California Airports appeared first on FLYING Magazine.