can you use regular car gas for an aircraft or do you have to use aircraft fuel????

Answer 1

Only Bostonian has got this right.

There are TWO kinds of engines in aircraft - jet engines and piston engines, and each requires a very different type of fuel. You didn't specify which type of aircraft engine or fuel.

A jet engine is essentially a furnace with turbine wheels, therefore in theory they will burn any flammable liquid - diesel, kerosene, gasoline, alcohol, stove oil, etc. But in practice, we only use jet fuel because it is proven to burn with the right specs. Jet fuel is a mixture of kerosene, naptha, and a few other anti-icing and anti-microbial additives, depending if its Jet-A or Jet-B. Using anything else would not be in accordance with the flight manual (depending on the specific engine) or the manufacturer's approval. For example, Rolls Royce approves their 250 series jet engines to burn 100% gasoline (either avgas or car gas, called mogas) for up to 8 hours between overhauls, but normally they use Jet-A or Jet-B in cold temperatures. I have personally used gasoline and diesel in turbine helicopters when nothing else was available in remote locations, but never beyond the flight manual approvals.

A piston engine burns only gasoline. It will NOT burn jet fuel, and neither will a drag racing car as suggested above. Putting jet fuel in the tank of a piston engine aircraft is a guaranteed recipe for an engine failure. That's because the fuel used in a piston engine must have very high volatility so it will evaporate and form the correct 13:1 mixture with air in the combustion chamber, or it will not burn. Again, in theory, most piston aircraft engines will burn regular car gas but if it is not approved it is illegal and you are a test pilot, and that is a scary thought. Some aircraft engine manufacturers approve their piston engines to be approved for mogas, and there are some approved mod kits as well. But in general, its best to burn the kind of fuel recommended by the manufacturer, and that will be specified in the flight manual.

An airport refueller will not sell you "aircraft fuel" - they will need to know whether you need jet fuel or avgas as adding the wrong type of fuel is going to cause a crash.

Answer 2

Just to add some home built aircraft run strictly on regular gas. This is because they have put an automotive engine into their aircraft or it is set up properly for it.
Regular gas is not as effective as aviation fuel. Aviation is a lot cleaner burning and has very little if any impurities.
Regular gas has a tendency to actually ice up carburetors in flight under certain conditions.
Fuel starvation has forced a lot of small aircraft down due to the use of regular gas.
The aviation fuel is much better octane wise, cleaner and the possibility of water in the fuel is very low. All pilots check their fuel prior to take off and each time they refuel to check for proper color, yes it is color coded and to check for impurities.

Answer 3

Ho, NEVER attempt to do so!

Apart form the higher octane rating that avgas has compared with automotive gas, avgas also has additives to prevent fuel lines from freezing, and water from condensing and so on. It can easily get below freezing at 5000 ft altitude even in a hot summer day, and having a frozen line is a recipe for disaster.

NEVER try to put regular car gas in an aircraft that is meant for avgas. Safety has to be the first priority. Saving a couple of buck will do one one good after a $50000+ aircraft is totalled and the pilot and passengers are in the hospital (or worse).

Answer 4

Some piston aircraft will run on MOGAS, in a pinch, but it is not advisable; especially in aircraft already prone to carburettor icing, as mogas will make any aircraft prone to this. You may have to fly with your carb heater out against the stops in areas of high humidity and the resulting power loss and high fuel consumption will make it more expensive than using Avgas.

In respect of Jet A1 and the other kerosine based jet fuels, I do know of one certified aircraft piston engine that uses this. It is called a Thierlert Diesel and is fitted in the Diamond star and Twinstar aircraft and is available for retrofitting to many other types, such as the Cessna C172.
Reason for this? in the UK, Avgas costs over £5 (near enough $10) per gallon and Jet A1 costs about £1.50. No carb icing to worry about and single lever control through FADEC.
Out with those big old lycomings and Continentals and in with the new Diesels, or private aviation will be priced out of the hands of the average pilot.

Answer 5

You can use automotive gas if you've had the auto gas conversion done. Aviation fuel octane numbers are calculated differently from automotive fuel and 87 octane unleaded will work fine where 80/100 octane avgas is called for.

BTW, piston engine aircraft do NOT use JP-8! JP-8 is military spec jet fuel similar to commercial Jet-A.

Answer 6

Airplanes are certified to run on a certain type of fuel, and according to FAA rules, may only use the type of fuel they were certified for. That means if your Cessna 140 or Piper Cub was originally certified to run on 80 octane avgas, then that's what you must use.

It is possible to apply to the FAA to have certain older piston-engined airplanes re-certified to use 87 octane unleaded car gas, but the aircraft engine must be formally certified for that fuel to be legal.

Answer 7

Depends on the engine. There are some old planes with radial engines that you can run on standard gasoline, but most planes these days run on JP-8 jet fuel, which is a lot heavier and takes a lot more to burn than gasoline.

Answer 8

You must use aviation fuel. Among other things, the octane rating is much higher.

Don't even experiment with it.

Answer 9

No, Gas burns to fast, so the engines will not get the required power to run properly

Answer 10

bostonianinmo beat me to it again.

Give him the points.

Also, some planes actually came from the factory ready to run regualar, for bush pilots and others who didnt have avgas available.