Piston-engine airplanes were parked earlier this year at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, California, where sales of 100LL were stopped in 2022.
Motorsport fuel developer VP Racing Fuels announced Dec. 12 that it has formed a new company, VP Aviation, to commercialize a high-octane unleaded fuel for general aviation piston aircraft.
The announcement by San Antonio, Texas-based VP Racing follows the advancement of its UL100E aviation fuel to full-scale engine testing under the FAA’s Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI). The fuel is the first unleaded avgas to enter full-scale testing via PAFI, an industry-government program started in 2013, said VP Racing, which developed UL100E with multinational chemical company LyondellBasell.
The FAA announced on Nov. 29 that the new fuel had successfully passed a 150-hr. durability test, which was conducted in a turbocharged Continental piston engine, according to VP Racing.
“The formation of VP Aviation is a response to this exclusive aviation fuel breakthrough,” said Alan Cerwick, president and CEO of VP Racing and president of VP Aviation. “This new company will allow for rapid global commercialization of the new fuel.”
Next steps call for testing the fuel in eight aircraft and 10 engines, a phase that is expected to take 12-18 months to complete, according to general aviation (GA) industry groups.
Once a candidate fuel completes the PAFI test program and obtains a product specification through the ASTM standards organization, industry associations expect the FAA will issue a fleetwide authorization allowing its use across the broad range of piston engines and aircraft. The VP Racing/LyondellBasell team has said it is working toward an ASTM specification, which is key for commercialization of a new product.
In September 2022, the FAA approved G100UL, a high-octane unleaded avgas developed by General Aviation Modifications Inc. (GAMI), through the supplemental type certification process for most piston engines and aircraft. GAMI developed G100UL separate of the PAFI program.
VP Racing said it expects to have the only high-octane unleaded avgas to be granted fleetwide authorization by the FAA through the PAFI process in the next 12-18 months. It then plans to gradually roll out the fuel to suppliers as a replacement for 100LL leaded fuel, the most common type of avgas. There is a 300-million-gallon annual demand for avgas worldwide, the company said.
“Passing Stage Gate III of the FAA’s PAFI test plan moves this fuel into full-scale testing in a number of engines and aircraft that represent a broad spectrum of GA technologies and materials,” Cerwick said. “VP will work with original equipment manufacturers, pilots, distributors, and regulatory bodies to seek authorization for the unleaded fuel for GA use to replace 100LL.”
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