Swift Fuels Expands UL94 Distribution to Several California Airports

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.”