A California flight school is now running all 12 of its Cessna 172s on Swift Fuels' new 100R unleaded avgas. San Carlos Flight Center has only the R and S models that fit Swift's initial STC for the new fuel. "We are thrilled to adopt 100R fuel for our fleet," said school owner Alessandro Franco, "Not only does it align with our commitment to sustainability, but it also enhances aircraft performance and extends engine life—benefits that directly impact our pilots and maintenance team."
About $10 a gallon. So, $90+ an hour just for gas in the 172. Better than not flying at all, but getting to be very expensive. Some of the cost might be mitigated by longer engine service life but I doubt it will balance out.
Congratulations Swift fuels! This is 2 choices of Unleaded Avgas for a huge number of aircraft that are actually flying a lot (R & S models, and all the legacy low compression Cessnas and Pipers). We just need to clear the regulatory & marketing hurdles to have the ASTM UL94 available to non-aviation users at our local marinas and gas stations. This will create economy of scale for pricing that even 100LL cannot compete with.