Unleaded Avgas by 2030: What the FAA Draft Plan Says

The FAA and industry EAGLE initiative has a goal of safely eliminating leaded aviation fuel use by US piston-engine aircraft by the end of 2030, with Alaska on a 2032 path. That is a transition objective, not a present nationwide ban on 100LL and not evidence that every aircraft-airport combination already has an approved, available replacement.

The most useful official snapshot is the FAA's 77-page Draft Transition Plan to Unleaded Aviation Gasoline, published for comment in January 2026 and retained here in an AOPA-hosted copy after the FAA closed the comment page. It records three high-octane candidates—GAMI G100UL, Swift Fuels 100R and LyondellBasell/VP Racing UL100E—at different points in approval, testing and distribution. The FAA's Federal Register notice confirms the plan's scope and publication.

Because the document is a draft, its projected dates are planning markers rather than approvals. Owners should verify the current approval for their exact airframe and engine, then verify what is physically available for the route.

The three fuel paths in the FAA draft

Fuel	Approval path described by FAA	Status recorded in the January 2026 draft	What remains operationally important
G100UL	Airframe and engine Approved Model List supplemental type certificates	Approved for nearly all aircraft in the FAA type-certificate database and all spark-ignition piston engines in that database; limited airport deployment recorded	Exact STC eligibility, required paperwork and actual airport supply
Swift 100R	Incremental STC approvals plus an ASTM production specification	Initial STC approved in September 2024; in use on approved aircraft at five US flight schools by fall 2025; further engine groups under certification	Whether the exact engine-airframe combination is in the current approval tranche
UL100E	Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative fleet-authorisation pathway	Full-scale testing under way; draft targeted testing completion in fall 2026 and fleet authorisation in spring 2027	Test completion, ASTM production specification and FAA fleet authorisation

The table is not a ranking. One route can have broad paperwork coverage but sparse distribution; another can have a consensus production specification but incomplete fleet coverage; a third can aim for fleet authorisation while still in testing.

What 2030 does—and does not—mean

The FAA aviation-fuels office describes the EAGLE goal as eliminating leaded fuel safely by the end of 2030 without harming safe and efficient operation of the existing fleet.

The FAA Reauthorization Act framework quoted in the draft also protects continued 100LL access at affected federally funded airports until the earlier of 31 December 2030 or the point at which a qualifying replacement meets the statutory conditions. The draft then describes a phased national transition, fuel-production growth and airport conversion.

For an owner, the correct reading is:

• 100LL remains an operating fuel during the transition;
• 2030 drives planning, authorisation and infrastructure work;
• regions and airports may move at different times; and
• aircraft approval does not guarantee fuel availability at a particular airport.

G100UL: broad STC coverage, narrow recorded deployment

The FAA draft says G100UL is approved through airframe STC SA01967WI for nearly all aircraft in the FAA type-certificate database and through engine STC SE01966WI for all spark-ignition piston engines in that database. It also notes separate work around rotorcraft, light-sport and experimental-aircraft pathways.

At the draft's fall-2025 snapshot, the fuel was available at two California airports and one Mississippi airport, with another Oklahoma location expected. That dated number should not be used as a live airport directory. It does show why approval and availability must be tracked separately.

GAMI publishes the current STC resources and Approved Model Lists. An owner needs both the relevant airframe and engine position, the installation instructions, placards and flight-manual material—not a general statement that the fuel covers “the fleet.”

Swift 100R: approvals arriving in tranches

The FAA draft records Swift's first 100R STC approval in September 2024 and commercial deployment beginning that November. By fall 2025, it says approved aircraft at five US flight schools were actively using the fuel.

Swift's certification plan was divided into groups. The draft describes work first around the lower-octane portion of the fleet, then higher-horsepower naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines, followed by a more varied group including large-bore, moderate-compression, turbocharged and radial engines. It warns that projected dates depend on FAA and Technical Center resources.

The practical lesson is that “100R is approved” is incomplete. The current Approved Model List for the exact engine and aircraft is the controlling question. An ASTM production specification can support manufacture and distribution, but it does not by itself authorise every aircraft to use the fuel.

UL100E: fleet authorisation still being earned

The FAA draft identifies UL100E as the only fuel then in the fleet-authorisation process. It says the fuel had been in full-scale PAFI testing since late 2024, with work covering engine detonation, performance and durability, aircraft flight testing and compatibility across more than 200 materials and components.

At the date of the draft, engine and materials programmes were incomplete. The plan targeted fall 2026 for completion of full-scale testing and spring 2027 for both an ASTM production specification and fleet authorisation. Those dates are objectives in a public-comment draft; neither should be written as an approval already issued.

If fleet authorisation is granted, the pathway could cover traditional type-certificated engines, airplanes and rotorcraft without an owner purchasing the same kind of individual STC package used by another fuel. Until the FAA issues that authorisation, UL100E remains a programme to monitor rather than a fuel an owner can assume is available and approved.

The owner decision has three gates

A usable unleaded-fuel plan needs all three of these to be true:

1. Aircraft approval. The exact airframe and engine combination is covered by the applicable STC, fleet authorisation or other approval.
2. Operating instructions. Required placards, supplements, limitations, intermixing instructions and continued-airworthiness material are understood and installed where applicable.
3. Physical supply. The fuel is available at the home airport and at realistic alternates or destinations for the operation.

Missing any one gate turns a general industry milestone into a poor dispatch plan.

Owners can prepare without committing to a fuel today. Record the exact engine and airframe models, monitor the current approval lists, ask the airport which storage and dispensing path it is assessing, and review fuel compatibility during acquisition or major-engine decisions. Flight schools should do the same exercise across each fleet subtype rather than treating all trainers as identical.

The infrastructure problem is as real as certification

The FAA draft estimates that the lower 48 states would need roughly 180 million gallons of annual unleaded supply by the end of 2030. It identifies production, terminals, transport, airport tanks, dispensing equipment, comingling and liability among the transition barriers.

Many smaller airports have one avgas tank or one practical dispensing position. A technically approved fuel may therefore arrive through airport-by-airport conversion rather than a period where every candidate sits beside 100LL. That makes a current airport directory and route-specific fuel confirmation more useful than a national approval headline.

Bottom line

G100UL, 100R and UL100E are not three interchangeable products at the same stage. The FAA draft records G100UL with broad STC coverage but limited distribution at its snapshot date, 100R with incremental STC deployment and further fleet groups in progress, and UL100E still working through full-scale testing toward fleet authorisation.

Treat 2030 as a planning horizon. Before using any replacement, verify the current approval for the exact aircraft and engine, complete the required documentation, and confirm real fuel availability. The FAA's final plan, later approvals and airport deployment—not a fuel-name preference—will decide how the transition works in practice.

Sources

• FAA — Draft Transition Plan to Unleaded Aviation Gasoline, January 2026 (AOPA-hosted copy)
• Federal Register — FAA notice of availability and request for comment
• FAA — Aviation Fuels technical discipline
• GAMI — G100UL STC resources and Approved Model Lists
• FAA — Guidance on transitioning a flight school to unleaded avgas