San Carlos Airport, located in Silicon Valley midway between San Francisco and San Jose, will be the first airport in California to sell unleaded aviation gasoline, according to producer Swift Fuels. Rabbit Aviation Services, the lone FBO at the general aviation airport, has completed a planned upgrade to its fuel tank facility that will make San Carlos the first airport in the state with a fully dedicated unleaded avgas system to provide Swift’s UL94 to its piston-engine customers. Sales are expected to begin on September 15.
“General aviation needs a piston fuel for the future, and that future doesn’t include toxic lead, so why not begin the transition with the highest quality unleaded fuel,” said Dan DeMeo, the FBO’s CEO, adding the airport's pilots and community see a large positive benefit to using the new fuel. “Swift’s UL94 solves the issues brought by tetraethyl lead and ethylene dibromide by radically lowering toxicity and engine corrosion, eliminating lead-fouled sparkplugs, and doubling the oil change intervals versus those required for 100LL.”
Swift Fuels CEO Chris D’Acosta added the fuel is commercially insured for aviation, and that similar announcements are expected soon for Texas and Florida. “Industry leaders like Dan DeMeo recognize the growing demand for cleaner fuel for their customers and continue to play an integral role in the transition,” he said.