What Fuel Does a Gyrocopter Use?
The same petrol as your car, with three numbers worth knowing
The short answer
Unleaded petrol from an ordinary filling station. Not avgas. The ARGON GTL flight manual sets three conditions and they are the whole story:
- MOGAS EN 228 - the European pump-petrol standard
- Minimum RON 95
- No more than 10% ethanol
That third line is the one that matters in Britain, and we come back to it below.
What the manual actually approves
Section 2.17 lists five fuels. Note what this means: avgas is permitted, not required.
| MOGAS EN 228 Super | Ordinary 95-octane unleaded, the European pump standard |
|---|---|
| MOGAS EN 228 Super Plus | 97-98 octane super unleaded |
| AVGAS 100 LL | Permitted, but leaded, dearer and aerodrome-only |
| UL 91 | Unleaded aviation petrol |
| UL 94 | Unleaded aviation petrol |
This is not a small detail dressed up as a big one. Running on car petrol instead of avgas is one of the reasons a gyroplane costs a fraction of a certified aircraft to fly, and it is why you can keep one at a farm strip without a fuel bowser in the picture.
The British complication: E10 at the pump
Since 2021 the standard 95-octane unleaded sold in Great Britain has been E10 - up to 10% ethanol. The flight manual's limit is 10%. So E10 is legal in the aircraft, and it is also sitting exactly on the ceiling with nothing in hand.
Super unleaded is the better buy, and for two reasons at once. It is sold as E5 - up to 5% ethanol, half the limit - and it is 97 to 98 octane, comfortably above the RON 95 minimum. It costs a few pence more a litre. On a 23-litre hour that is small change against the peace of mind.
Why fuss about ethanol at all? It is hygroscopic - it pulls water out of the air - and aircraft fuel spends far longer sitting in a tank than car fuel ever does. Water in the fuel is the thing the daily inspection is looking for when it tells you to check the settling tank. If an aircraft is going to stand for several weeks, the lower the ethanol content in the tanks, the better.
What it costs to burn
From the manufacturer's published operating-cost sheets. Fuel is the largest single running cost on any of these aircraft, which is precisely why the fuel they take matters:
| ARGON GTL / 915 iS | 23 l/h at book cruise, costed at 25 - about £32.61 an hour |
|---|---|
| ARGO AH-22 helicopter | 25 l/h - about £34.88 an hour |
| ARGO AH-24 helicopter | About 35 l/h, and it wants RON 98 |
| Engine oil, all models | 0.06 l/h maximum - about £1.14 an hour |
One exception worth flagging: the ARGO AH-24, the work variant with the 200 hp UL Power UL 520, is specified for RON 98 rather than 95. On that machine super unleaded is not a preference, it is the fuel.
The full picture of what these aircraft cost to run is in our GTL price guide and the ARGO AH price guide.
Two things the manual adds
There are two fuel pumps, not one. The engine runs a main and an auxiliary pump. If the main fails the engine will stop, and it restarts on the auxiliary - a failure that reads alarming on paper and is a checklist item in practice.
Below 20 litres, believe the tank, not the gauge. The takeoff checklist says so in as many words: under 20 litres in the GTL the electronic indication may be in error, and there must be at least 20 litres in the tanks before you go. That is a planning number as much as a safety one - see how long a gyrocopter can stay in the air, where we work through what it does to the range figures.
Frequently asked questions
What fuel does a gyrocopter use?
Ordinary unleaded petrol from a filling station. The ARGON GTL flight manual approves MOGAS EN 228 Super and Super Plus, a minimum of RON 95 and no more than 10% ethanol. AVGAS 100 LL, UL 91 and UL 94 are also permitted, but nothing about the aircraft requires them.
Can you run a gyrocopter on E10 petrol in the UK?
Yes, within the limit. British standard 95-octane unleaded is E10, meaning up to 10% ethanol, and the flight manual allows a maximum of 10%. That is at the ceiling with no margin, which is why many owners buy super unleaded instead - it is E5, up to 5% ethanol, and 97-98 octane.
What is the fuel consumption of a gyrocopter?
No. AVGAS 100 LL is on the approved list and will do no harm, but it is leaded, costs considerably more and is only sold at aerodromes. The ROTAX and UL Power engines these aircraft use are designed around automotive petrol, and running on it is one of the reasons a gyroplane costs a fraction of a certified aircraft to fly.
How much does gyrocopter fuel cost per hour?
About £32.61 an hour for an ARGON on the manufacturer's costing, and £34.88 for the ARGO AH-22 helicopter. Both figures assume ordinary unleaded rather than avgas; the gyroplane burns 23 litres an hour at book cruise.
Why does ethanol in petrol matter for an aircraft?
Ethanol draws water out of the air, and fuel that sits in a tank between flights has time to do it. It can also attack older rubber and composite fuel-system parts. The ARGON's system is specified for up to 10% ethanol, so E10 is within limits, but E5 super unleaded gives you margin - and if an aircraft is going to stand for weeks, the lower the ethanol content the better.