Three Cessna 172s operated by Hamburg’s Hanseatic Flying Club can now use Cair XTL, an HVO alternative diesel supplied by Tool-Fuel. The airport describes the flights as the first use of the fuel by small aircraft at Hamburg. The aircraft, used mainly for training and practice, have diesel engines and can operate on the fuel without technical modifications, following approval by their aircraft and engine manufacturers.
Tool-Fuel sources Cair XTL from Neste in Rotterdam. The fuel is produced from used cooking oil and other plant residues, with hydrogen used in its manufacture. The club’s approval work applies to its compatible aircraft; the fuel is not suitable for every small aeroplane. Most propeller aircraft use aviation gasoline rather than diesel.
The club estimates fuel consumption at about 20 litres per flight hour for a diesel aircraft, compared with around 35 litres for a comparable petrol-powered aircraft. No lifecycle emissions figure or price for the aircraft fuel was provided, so the feedstock alone does not establish the emissions savings from its use in flight.
Hamburg Airport has used synthetic diesel in its own diesel-powered vehicles since 2016, reporting savings of about 15,000 tonnes of CO₂ over ten years. That vehicle use is separate from the new application in the Cessnas.