Unleaded Avgas Candidate Passes Critical Engine Tests, Moves Ahead

UL100E fuel produced by LyondellBasell/VP Racing is first to pass the 150-hour durability test under PAFI.

Jonathan Welsh

Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 02:11 PM ET

Verified

The piston GA fleet is moving toward an unleaded future. [Credit: iStock]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA has cleared LyondellBasell/VP Racing's UL100E unleaded avgas to proceed to full-scale engine and flight testing.
This fuel is the first unleaded candidate to successfully pass the rigorous 150-hour engine durability test under the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI).
This milestone represents a significant step towards replacing 100LL avgas and achieving the industry's goal of eliminating lead emissions by the end of 2030.

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Encouraging news about unleaded aviation fuel arrived from the FAA on Wednesday. The agency cleared the unleaded UL100E avgas developed by LyondellBasell Industries/VP Racing for piston-engine aircraft to move ahead to full-scale engine and flight testing.

The announcement came after the fuel passed a 150-hour engine durability test under the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI), a collaborative industry and government testing program established in 2014. The FAA noted that the LyondellBasell/VP Racing UL100E is the first unleaded fuel to pass this phase of PAFI testing. The program’s signatories are working towards a replacement for 100LL avgas for aircraft requiring higher octane than the currently available 94UL unleaded fuels.