Sport Expo: Swift Pushing UL94

Swift Fuels says it's pushing hard to market its 94UL unleaded aviation fuel to more airports and that the infrastructure is in place to refine and distribute it virtually anywhere in the U.S. At this week's Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Swift's Chris D'Acosta told AVweb that UL94 can be burned by about 65 percent of the U.S. general aviation fleet. The remaining aircraft require 100-octane fuel.

In this podcast recorded at the show, D'Acosta said about 40 airports are selling Swift's UL94."We've got lots of places that are taking the fuel. One of the issues about the fuel is the availability of spare tankage. So there are private users or airports that have taken steps to put tankage in place to allow people to buy the fuel," D'Acosta said.

Currently, UL94 is produced and distributed from near Swift's Lafayette, Indiana, headquarters, but the company says it can be refined by many refiners and production could be ramped up quickly. Swift's UL94 appears to retail for a price between what mogas typically sells for and the current price of 100LL. About 100 U.S. airports offer mogas, but because there's pressure on refiners to absorb ever more ethanol production, the availability of so-called E0 is threatened. D'Acosta said this might represent an opportunity for Swift if the tankage becomes available.

"Pilots who are flying it really love it. We have consistently good reports," D'Acosta said of 94UL. "There's things about our fuel that autogas can't compete with. So we just have to make those things clear. The mechanics who have torn down engines and looked at them have all said very positive things," D'Acosta said.

Meanwhile, Swift continues to work with the FAA's Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative to complete testing on its 100LL replacement fuel. Swift, along with Shell, has a candidate fuel that's supposed to be ready for market after 2018. Engine and airframe testing is scheduled to last through the end of 2018 and some 20 engine test cells are also collecting data on the two replacement fuels. A dozen aircraft have been selected to carry on the flight testing.

D'Acosta said he believes PAFI is on track on deliver a fuel by 2018 or shortly thereafter. "Working in a broad program … it's understandable to expect there to be some slowdowns or periods where deadlines might be missed. But I think everyone is working with passion and diligence. We speak to the FAA and regularly to the OEMs all the time," D'Acosta said.