Swift Fuels 100R Unleaded Avgas: Available on “Restricted Use” Basis
Posted on November 11th, 2024
West Lafayette, IN: In recent weeks, several airports in California have brought to Swift Fuels’ attention that they were approached by a fuel producer to use G100ULTM unleaded avgas which does not have an ASTM International fuel specification. The airfields noted that the producer of G100ULTM was exerting extreme pressure on the California airports leadership – hoping to motivate them to begin buying their fuel. Many California airports said their leadership will wait use 100-octane unleaded avgas alternatives that are commercially available with an ASTM Specification as it assures a more thorough testing criteria has been achieved for many items beyond the purview of FAA. Recently one airport was compelled to offer G100ULTM unleaded avgas at highly discounted pricing for the fuel and STC’s to make it appear attractive to buyers despite market concerns recently reported about paint staining/stripping, bladder leaks, elastomer warnings, Cirrus advisory SA24-14, and Lycoming warnings. These publicized concerns stem from the fact that G100ULTM contains a large quantity of xylene plus an aggressive solvent (3- 4% m-toluidine) known to potentially alter the performance of certain fuel system parts – particularly elastomeric-type parts. For unknown reasons, the producers of G100ULTM have been unwilling to submit their fuel to ASTM International for industry-wide vetting.