Posted on 03/24/2010 9:55:21 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
An Air Force test pilot is scheduled to fly an A-10 Thunderbolt II jet aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base March 25 on a blend of biomass-derived and conventional JP-8 jet fuel. This will be the first flight of an aircraft powered solely on a biomass-derived jet fuel blend.
The biomass-derived fuel used for this event is referred to as hydrotreated renewable jet, or HRJ, and is part of a class of fuels derived from either plant oil or animal fat feedstocks. The feedstock source of the biomass powering the A-10 demonstration is camelina oil, a flowering plant in the same family as mustard, cabbage and broccoli, but not used as a food-source.
Biomass-derived fuels offer the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While additional testing will be conducted to explore the full extent of their benefits, test data show that particulate emissions are reduced during combustion of biomass-derived fuels.
This event marks the next phase in the Air Force's alternative aviation fuel program and represents a milestone in worldwide development of alternative aviation fuels, paving the way for future Air Force HRJ certification flight tests of the F-15 Eagle, F-22 Raptor and C-17 Globemaster III to begin this summer.
The A-10 demonstration flight supports the Air Force's 2010 Energy Plan goal to be prepared to cost-competitively acquire 50% of domestic aviation fuel from an alternative fuel blend by 2016.
"The Air Force recognizes its role as a leader in energy management," said Mr. Terry Yonkers, assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics. "This demonstration underscores our commitment to advancing technologies that increase our use of renewable energy and reduce our consumption of imported foreign oil."
How much more does this crap cost than conventional fuel, and how bad is it gonna screw up that poor A10?
There is not seem to be any problem with the use of FT fuel in B-52s.
It may work.
Yes I think they already conducted a test with a B-52 and pure biofuel.
Please, Oh mighty masters, partake of the new HC; try out the new fuels; make yourselves vulnerable to the dictates of the govt. you want to give us.
vaudine
I thought that the USAF has approved of its use,if I am correct.
Adding insult to injury, using an A-10 for the test. Geez...
When Pigs Fly!
It’s bad enough that they’re putting JP-8 in it.
Say that to the B-52s already flying on FT fuels
LOL! You missed the point. Imagine a component of the Bio-mass fuel being Swine goo.
What would that do to the mind of a Jihadi, knowing he has just inhaled some porcine vapors via a flyby?
We don’t know until we experiment and see the data. I want to see the data before making the call.
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Former Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne spearheaded the agency's investigation into alternative fuels in 2005 by creating an 11-member task force. Just a year and a half later, a B-52 Stratofortress flew out of Edwards Air Force Base on 50 percent standard-issue military JP-8 fuel and 50 percent Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene fuel derived from natural gas. (Unlike petroleum products, the synthetic fuel lacks aromatics, preventing it from being used in ratios greater than 50 percent.) The B-52 was the perfect candidate for testing, since its eight engines offer ultimate mechanical redundancy; the first flight was performed with only one engine using synthetic fuel, so that if the engine failed there would be seven backups.
"We tested the crap out of the B-52 engines before we flew it," explains Jeff Braun, director of the Alternative Fuels Certification Office. "We did component tests on the engines, ground tests, engine install ground tests and then single-engine flight tests. We then stair-stepped from one, to four, to all engines, which provided a component of risk mitigation."
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4283188.html
You are correct. You beat me to the punch.
Anyway I suppose natural gas-derived won’t make the biomass advocates very happy.
I say we claim one of the components is Swine Goo and let the Jihadi’s go insane thinking they are not to Allah’s Whorehouse.
If it’s true they are screwed.
If it’s not true they will go mental.
Keep em guessing.
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