What type of fuel does the helicopter use?

Question

What type of fuel does the helicopter use?

Answer 1

If it is a turbine then Jet A or JP4

If it is a piston then 100LL avgas.

On a turbine helicopter avgas is commonly mixed into the Jet fuel for easier starts in Alaska and other places  where it is cold.  

that is also where some aircraft are modified to inject fuel into the oil system on shutdown to keep the oil from getting too thick.

Answer 2

kerosene and avgas fuel. (jet fuel) some new helicopter are being tested with  fuel cells and hydrogen fuel cells  

Answer 3

Piston powered-  100LL or 80/87 (80/87 is almost impossible to find, as newer piston powered aircraft designed with engines that require 100 octane Low Lead engines.)

Turbine powered civilian helicopters- Jet A  (based upon an unleaded paraffin oil.)

Turbine powered US Navy helicopters- JP5 (a kerosene based fuel with a higher flash point than Jet A.  The higher flash point reduces the chance of fire caused by exposure to surrounding high temperatures. For example- consider aircraft on an aircraft carrier, if one aircraft catches fire, the nearby aircraft are better protected from fire.)

JP 4 was used from the '50 to the early '90 for military turboshaft powered aircraft.  JP4 was a 50/50 mixture of gasoline and kerosene.  JP8 replaced JP4 in the early '90s.  JP8 is less flammable and offers better combat survivability.    It is the primary fuel for military turboshaft powered aircraft. (except carrier based aircraft)

Trivia: You can identify aviation fuels by their color.  100LL is blue, Jet A and JP5 are clear.  Dyes are used in aviation fuel for safety reasons.  Putting Jet A in a piston powered aircraft would lead to an engine failure and possible crash.  100LL in a turbine is bad also, as the engine would run very hot and become damaged.

Answer 4

Avgas. You can also mix it with your gasoline and you'll immediatelly notice an increase in power and acceleration. In other words, avgas has a higher octane rating and can be used as an additive to gasoline.  

Answer 5

The helicopters I am familiar with are from the Vietnam era and they all used  JP4.

That stands for Jet Propulsion #4

It smelled a lot like kerosene burning.

The engines were a jet turbine type and were quite reliable.

The "Louisiana" helicopter, called "Huey" has been used in many civilian applications and is still in service as medical transports, crop dusters, news media, you name it.

They still smell the same to me, so they must still be using the JP4 or something very similar to it.

Answer 6

Depends on what the engine of the helicopter is.

Most helicopters are gas turbine or "jet" powered, so they would use jet fuel.

the R22, a training helicopter, is a gasoline powered engine helicopter and uses 100LL or 100 avgas (aviation gasoline).

Answer 7

Just to throw more junk into the fray, the Alouette II   I flew years ago would use just about anything that burns. I had to burn bunker fuel off a boat one time. If I remember the stats. We were limited to 50 combined hours on MoGas.

But most answers are correct.  For a piston slammer one would use Avgas and most commercial Helicopters are turbine powered so they would use Jet-A, Jet-B, JP-4, etc.  I have used Jet 50 in the Arctic. So for all practical purposes, Avgas for the piston machines and Jet fuel (all of it) in the turbine powered machines.