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gogozrx t1_jdv7xnc wrote

Reply to comment by MagnusNewtonBernouli in Does living in an airplane flight path, near an airport, pose a health risk? What happens to the lead from the jets fuel? by [deleted]

AVGAS isn't used in turbines because it's the wrong fuel for them, and they will not run. AVGAS needs a spark to reliably ignite, and turbines don't work like that - they're effectively diesel engines and ignite the fuel from the heat of compression.

I stand corrected. Turbines *will* run on AVGAS, but it's not recommended, and can have other issues.

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quietflyr t1_jdv96bq wrote

Turbines can run on all different kinds of fuels, including gasoline/avgas. It doesn't mean it will produce its rated power, or will be as reliable as when running jet fuel, but it will run. Avgas/gasoline will definitely ignite from compression alone. Remember, Avgas is leaded so it won't ignite from the heat of compression in a piston engine at its designed compression ratios.

C-130s for example have a section in the flight manual about alternate fuels. They list things like diesel, kerosene, gasoline, avgas, etc, but they're all intended for extreme circumstances (stuck somewhere without jet fuel and need to get out now) and all have maintenance requirements after using them.

That being said, I highly doubt modern commercial turbofans are certified to run these alternate fuels. But from a technical standpoint, they would most likely run.

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ozspook t1_jdv968p wrote

I can assure you that gas turbines have ignitors and can run on a large range of fuels, AVGAS included.

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