Matthias Dolderer, a Red Bull Air Race pilot and co-organizer of the Tannkosh airshow presented an aerobatics display Aug. 24 with his engine running on the new SwiftFuel 100SF — a first in aviation history, according to Swift officials, who note this was also the European debut of a single engine aircraft running on biofuel.
SwiftFuel 100SF is a lead-free aviation fuel made from biomass, designed by Swift Enterprises to be a drop-in replacement for 100LL.
“SwiftFuel offers the pilot a higher octane rating (104 MON), a higher energy density per litre and a better range – and all of this completely neutral in terms of CO2 emissions,” says Thomas Albuzat, managing director of Swift Fuel GmbH, the U.S. manufacturer’s European branch based at Zweibrücken, Germany. “That way, 100SF manages to go from flab to fab, from a leaded mineral oil product to a lead-free bio fuel – and all this without any alterations to the aircraft and with the same power output.”
Dolderer’s EDGE 540 is a high performance aerobatic aircraft in the Unlimited class, powered by a 400 hp Lycoming engine featuring a compression ratio of 11:1. “It works! There’s no difference between SwiftFuel and 100LL,” said Dolderer after landing back at Tannheim airfield. “SwiftFuel is a real alternative for 100LL and may well be the harbinger of a new era in general aviation.”
