Biofuel blend used in all engines of air force flight
An aircraft powered by biomass-based fuel mixed with conventional fuel in all engines has flown for the first time.
A US Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II, using a 50-50 blend of camelina-based jet fuel and traditional jet fuel, completed a successful flight test. The “uneventful and predictable” flight took off from the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida after a two-month ground test period. The A-10 aircraft used in the test has a fuel system which can segregate fuel supply, so that one set of fuel tanks is paired to one engine without mixing fuel between systems. Sustainable Oils provided the camelina-based fuels which powered the 90-minute flight. Camelina is the most readily available renewable fuel feedstock that meets the Air Force’s criteria for usage, with the ability to scale up acreage to meet demand. The camelina for the test flight was primarily grown in 2009 and harvested in September 2009 by farmers in Montana.
