The US Air Force (USAF) flew a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft on JP-8 aviation fuel blended with bio-fuel during tests at Edwards Air Force base (AFB), California, it announced on 3 September.
The trials, which were carried out by the 418th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS) between 23 and 27 August, mark the first time that the USAF has flown an aircraft on bio-fuel. They were a major milestone in the air force's attempts to develop an alternative to JP-8 aviation fuel, of which it is the largest consumer in the world.
During the trials a C-17 flew on all four engines being powered by a 50:25/25 blend of JP-8; bio-fuel derived in part from animal fat; and synthetic fuel derived from coal. The flight was a first for any Department of Defense aircraft where a 50 per cent mix of JP-8 was blended with 25 per cent renewable bio-fuel and 25 per cent fuel derived from the Fischer-Tropsch process, which is essentially liquefied coal or natural gas.
According to Lieutenant General Mark D Shackelford, the military deputy to the assistant secretary of the air force for acquisition, the test marks a major milestone in the USAF's efforts to source half of its jet fuel requirements from domestically derived, environmentally friendly alternative sources by 2016.
( www.janes.com )
The trials, which were carried out by the 418th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS) between 23 and 27 August, mark the first time that the USAF has flown an aircraft on bio-fuel. They were a major milestone in the air force's attempts to develop an alternative to JP-8 aviation fuel, of which it is the largest consumer in the world.
During the trials a C-17 flew on all four engines being powered by a 50:25/25 blend of JP-8; bio-fuel derived in part from animal fat; and synthetic fuel derived from coal. The flight was a first for any Department of Defense aircraft where a 50 per cent mix of JP-8 was blended with 25 per cent renewable bio-fuel and 25 per cent fuel derived from the Fischer-Tropsch process, which is essentially liquefied coal or natural gas.
According to Lieutenant General Mark D Shackelford, the military deputy to the assistant secretary of the air force for acquisition, the test marks a major milestone in the USAF's efforts to source half of its jet fuel requirements from domestically derived, environmentally friendly alternative sources by 2016.
( www.janes.com )
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