What range of octane does commercial airplane Boeing and Airbus) and race cars use?

Question

I know airplanes use Jet-A fuel, but some members here also say they use gas thats around 100.

Answer 1

Boeing and Airbus airplanes are all jet powered and use aviation grade kerosene or Jet-A.
The small piston engined aircraft mostly use Avgas 100LL which is 100 octane Low Lead. There was also a Avgas 130 and 80 but these are pretty hard if not impossible to find.
I don't think that race cars use leaded fuel. Some of the small racers on the local tracks use Avgas 100LL, some places you cannot do this because of the laws regarding road taxes and the lead content of the Avgas.

Answer 2

Commercial Aviation Airplanes use Jet Fuel. It isn't gasoline. It is diesel fuel and or a kerosene depending on what type of engine you have. You can use Jet A, or Jet B. Or in the military, JP3 or JP4.

Some small General Aviation airplanes ( non turbine engines) use a high octane gasoline, called Avgas. There are different types of unleaded versions out there. But over the years that has been standardized, using 100LL (low leaded)

Race cars use gasoline. Octane levels to high to run in your normal street car without damage.

I'd probably go to www.howstuffworks.com and look at the difference in the internal combustion engine (suck, squeeze, bang, blow) and then look at the jet engine (constant pressure)

Answer 3

To correct some apparent misapprehensions here:

A gas turbine (jet) engine IS an internal combustion engine. It therefore has the same four stages or cycles of power generation as a cylinder-and-piston type of internal combustion engine. Since the 'suck, squeeze, bang, and blow' (intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust) are done continuously in a gas turbine rather than in fits and starts as in a piston engine it is vastly more efficient.

Also, if there were constant pressure throughout the jet engine, it wouldn't work viz. the four stages noted above. There is, however, constant combustion.

Also, there ARE aircraft which use MOGAS (automobile gasoline) as fuel. They are either light General Aviation aircraft which have been modified under an STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) from the FAA to allow it or aircraft operating as 'experimental' aircraft in which, to a great extent, 'anything goes'. Either of these conditions requires a great deal of paperwork, time, and money, so you'd have to do a LOT of flying to make the effort worthwhile.

Answer 4

Jets can use av gas if they absolutely have to, but only for a limited time. And, its way less efficient than jet fuel, which is close to being kerosene. Race cars use a lower octane than some reciprocating aircraft engines. Except formula one cars, they use some magical fuel additive that almost eliminates detonation. That's why formula one cars/ Indy cars can run 90 pounds of boost and not blow the head off the engine.

Answer 5

Boeing and Airbus aircraft all have turbine/turbofan engines. These engines normally run Jet-a which is like kerosene, and they can also operate on diesel. If it comes to it aircraft with turbine engines can run on regular aviation gas which is 100LL (100 octane with low lead content), and they can also in a pinch run on regular gasoline. The problem with running on gasoline with the turbine engines is that depending on the type of engine most engines have a maximum amount of hours as to which they can be run on gasoline between overhauls. An example of this is the PT-6 engine which is the most common turbo prop turbine engine may run for a maximum of 50 hours on gasoline between overhauls and at which point any more may damage the engine or cause excess wear.

100LL which is the most common for piston driven aircraft is 100 octane with low lead. The lead is used to help with lubrication and cooling of the engine. The higher octane content if to insure that there will not be detonation. Detonation is when the gasoline mixture explodes rather than burns. Gasoline is mainly composed of Octane and Heptane. Heptane is much quicker burning and more explodes than burns while Octane will burn longer and not explode in the same way.

Colourings:
100LL : blue tint
100/130: green tint
80/87: red colour
MO gas(car gas): straw
Jet-a: clear

These colourings help to allow for an easy way for pilots to tell what type of gas is in a container which will allow them to make sure there a/c is getting filled with the correct grade of gasoline.

Answer 6

Boeing. I have flown on A-300, A310. A319. A320. 321 and 330. in both economy and business class, on five different airlines.. Never flew on a 340 or 380. Business class seats are sometimes OK, but Economy seating on every Airbus in a flight of more than an hour duration, gives me back pain. I cannot explain why, it hust happens and is consistent over th eyears. Cushions help, but if faced with flying Airbus on a long trip I would rather stay home. I noted someone here claims to be an aircraft mechanic and loves Airbus, but the engineers I know are not fond of Airbus except when they are new. Their complaint is Airbus has tended to make many, many, alterations to their part selections when building, with the result that parts used in one build sequence are often not interchangeable with earlier or later builds of the same model series. Manufacturers do this on a geat many things, but airplanes are needed in the air, and delays are a huge cost to airlines. Part incompatibility adds to airline costs when something fails, as they cannot afford to have a full inventory and use pool arrangements for parts, (sharing a parts pool with other airlines) but even though two aircraft appear identical, and may have been produced within months of each other, part incompatibility is not uncommon and means having to search for the correct part. That tends to keep parts costs high,which raises operating expense and this ultimately shows up in ticket costs, while the delays add to passenger costs whenever a flight is delayed or cancelled. @Nico How the poor quality seats come into Airbus equipment is, to me, irrelevant. The expressed concern is that there is a problem, and that problem is consistent on Airbus equipment, regardless of model, as the airccraft I have experienced were operated by five different airlines Nico There is no misunderstanding. I have been in the business for many years. The mentioned problems with seats have applied with FIVE airlines using Airbus equipment, in North America and in Asia. I have flown on every Boeing 700 series and the earlier Douglas (later Mc Donnel-Douglas) planes of all versions, from DC3 upwards but have experienced nothing like the Airbus. (admittedly the DC3 was NOT a comfortable seat), and a variety of prop planes. . As stated, I do not know the exact reason, but it has been consistent and was found with each airline.. Please also note, this is not a nominal discomfort: they bring on real pain and on a long flight it builds into severe pain.

Answer 7

Commercial jet aircraft use Jet A. Piston airplanes burn 100LL.(100 octane low lead) Nascar uses 110 octane leaded racing gas by Sunoco. In 2008 they will use unleaded.
Older aircraft certified for 80 octane avgas can use auto gas under an STC(Supplementlal Type Certificate).

Answer 8

depending on the aircraft they use either jet-a for jets or a-fuel which is a higher grade of gasoline with additive so it will not break down at high altitude it usally runs between 104 and 112 octane race cars /bikes use any where from 108 -125 unleaded running them on the street is illegal. but a-fuel is a good cleaner for dirty injectors /carbs ect and runs real good in an oxygen rich environment (less o2 at altitude)


DONOT USE PUMP GAS FOR A PLANE it can break down and so will the aircraft making you a lawn dart

Answer 9

only piston engines that uses gas can be accounted in octane levels
race cars uses generally methanol with other additives
jet engines uses Jet-A or other equivalent kerosene fuels

Answer 10

104