UND Aerospace Transitions Full Fleet to Unleaded Avgas

The University of North Dakota program expects the switch to UL94 will improve maintenance costs for its aircraft and lead to more productivity for student pilots and flight instructors.

Amelia Walsh

Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 03:13 PM ET

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UND expects the switch to UL94 will improve maintenance costs for its aircraft. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

University of North Dakota (UND) Aerospace has transitioned its entire 100-aircraft fleet to unleaded UL94 avgas, becoming the largest collegiate aviation institution to do so.
This switch, delayed until costs converged, is expected to significantly reduce maintenance expenses and increase aircraft productivity by extending inspection intervals and decreasing part replacements.
UND plans to collect data to assist the FAA and other programs in developing policies for unleaded fuel, though widespread adoption faces challenges due to limited mass refining capacity for this specialized fuel.

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University of North Dakota (UND) Aerospace has become the largest collegiate aviation institution to transition its aircraft fleet to unleaded avgas, according to the program.

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.