The Transition to Unleaded Fuel

Pia Bergqvist

Tuesday, July 03, 2012 at 06:24 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The article questions the FAA's initiative to develop a new unleaded avgas, highlighting Hjelmco 91/96 UL, a Swedish unleaded fuel successfully used in Europe for over three decades.
Hjelmco 91/96 UL offers numerous benefits including lower emissions, extended engine TBO, better performance, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility with U.S. ASTM standards, receiving approvals from major engine manufacturers and EASA.
Despite minor challenges like costly modifications for a small percentage of aircraft and the fuel's clear color, the author advocates for the FAA to adopt this proven existing solution rather than spending years and millions to develop a new one.

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Last week, the FAA issued a report on its plan to replace 100LL with an unleaded alternative. The goal of the new Unleaded Avgas Transition Aviation Rulemaking Committee is to develop a entirely new fuel to replace 100LL. After attending a presentation at Santa Monica’s Museum of Flying this weekend, I’m wondering why.

The presentation was held by Lars Hjelmberg, owner of Hjelmco Oil – a company from Sweden that has been producing unleaded aviation fuels for more than three decades. The most widely distributed version, 91/96 UL, has been available since 1991. Since then, millions of flight hours have been flown in many different types of airplanes using this fuel, according to Hjelmberg. 91/96 UL is available today at more than 70 different airports in Sweden.