SwiftFuel Flight Test?

[aeropunk]

I just finished reading "Fuels for the Future," an article in the Feb09 issue of Sport Aviation, and was reminded again about SwiftFuel, the bioengineered 100LL alternative being developed by a team from Purdue University. I had first heard about SwiftFuel while reading a piece last June by PBS tech-industry columnist Robert X. Cringely.

After reading the Sport Aviation article, I did a quick search on the VAF forums to see what the RV community's take was, and I quickly gathered that the mood was something along the lines of "It sounds great, but I'll believe it when I see it fly."

Well, unless this is some sort of hoax, it looks like the first flight test happened last September -- in an RV-4, no less.

Click here to watch the video

As a future RV builder and green-tech junkie, I'm both excited and skeptical about the promise of this fuel. If it's true that 100LL is going the way of the dodo, then it would be great if something like this could serve as a drop-in replacement without sacrificing performance. I don't know, what you you guys think?

[rocketbob]

Yep, that's Charlie Holleman's RV-4... he's a professor at Purdue. A couple days ago I heard he went back and checked his logbook entries from the early 70's and found some entries where he gave a now-famous pilot named Sully some glider instruction.

[KirkGrovesRV8]

Gosh This would be awesome, I truly hope it does what they claim and they get it out for GA to use.
How cool is this no changes to anything in our planes and a completely renewable source of fuel.

[mculver]

They just submitted paperwork to the FAA. I think that this fuel is closer to reality than most of them that I've heard about over the years.

[David-aviator]

Originally Posted by aeropunk

Well, unless this is some sort of hoax, it looks like the first flight test happened last September -- in an RV-4, no less.

Swift Enterprises has no information on their web site regarding a test flight. They do have 2 videos of a test in 2006 with a IO360 in a test cell, but nothing on a first flight. If it happened, the company is not talking about it.

I've been tuned into Swift for some time and hope they are successful.

[Frank Smidler]

I have my RV-6 in the hanger next to the Holleman simulator building at the Purdue airport. I spoke to Brian Stirm Wednesday and they are presently working on testing a version of the fuel in his Smart car. They are also in the process of negotiating a site for a test manufacturing facility in the mid northern Indiana area. I know Brian Stirm and Charlie Holleman, they are very reputable, down to earth folks. There enthusiasm for the potential for this fuel and process tells me there must be something to it. I wish them well and hope to have a front row seat to observe a successful and history making development.

Good Luck to them.