US Air Force biofuel flight test a success

[wpsedgwick]

Source: Green Technology Daily

The U.S. Air Force’s initial test of a 50 percent Camelina biofuel in an A-10 Thunderbolt II was successful, an aviation milestone as a military or civilian aircraft had not been flown until now using a biofuels blend in all engines, according to the agency.

The nearly 90-minute test flight, which took place at Eglin Air Base in the Florida Panhandle, is part of a wide-ranging effort by the US military to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Other flights are planned later this year.



Read more: http://www.greentechnologydaily.com/bio-fuels/668-us-air-force-biofuel-flight-test-a-success

[Stumbler]

1. WTF?!?

Now we have no reason to invade Iran!! WTF?!?

Thank goodness we can't make those same biofuels outta hemp... Pfft! What a catastrophe that'd be!!

[salguine]

2. "The nearly 90-minute test flight...is part of a wide-ranging effort by the US military

to reduce dependence on fossil fuels."

I guess this is the Pentagon acknowledging that the oil isn't going to last forever...?

[An_Opened_Hand]

4. Also the Strategic Importance Second Sourcing.

All the locations with oil, outside of the USA, are either running out, or not all that friendly to us anymore. And will only get worse. The Smart Minds in the Military impress me on how much they "Get" about the real world out there.

[protocol rv]

8. it's mostly done for propaganda

The potential for native biofuels produced in the USA is very limited with existing technology. If a new technology is developed, then the biofuel being produced using the new technology will have to be tested. Therefore the tests are mostly done for propaganda purposes.

It is natural for oil to run out. Even those in non-friendly countries are also running out, if they are being produced. The smart minds in the US military are not that smart. This is why they lost the war in Iraq, and are losing in Afghanistan.

[hunter]

3. Hey, I have an idea: If the U.S. military is the biggest single consumer of oil...

... we could cut military use of oil by cutting down the size of the military.

I'll bet we could cut our military forces back by 90% and this would actually increase our national security. Americans could walk around places like Afghanistan freely, and the only thing you might hear from a local would be, "Hey, I have a cousin living in New York. You ever been there?" And a fat Osama bin Laden might still be in Saudi Arabia living in a fancy house with 3 wives and 7 cars in his garage.

Cut the military 90% and use this "green" fuel, and just like that our military is using only 5% of of the oil it once did.

[jmowreader]

11. I'll bet you're absolutely wrong

Ninety percent? No way. The military comes in real handy when earthquakes and hurricanes hit.

[hunter]

12. So would the Peace Corp if they had that kind of money.

And they wouldn't be wasting all that money on utterly useless aircraft.

Modern fighting aircraft, from those stupid "predator" drones to "state of the art" fighters, are nothing more than nasty pathogen filled mosquitoes.

They can't win wars, they can't defend our nation, they can only piss people off.

Fuck 'em.

[8 track mind]

5. I wonder if it was a

drop in replacement, or if modifications to the engines had to be made. My only concern about the use of bio-fuels in aircraft is that the stuff would congeal at high altitudes. They've probably thought of that already i suppose.

[Robb]

6. That's the 50% part.

Sort of like almost no one runs 100% biofuel in climates that freeze a lot, but B-20 is popular.

[8 track mind]

7. just enought regular petroleum to keep it from turning into syrup. n/t

[protocol rv]

10. It's possible to make biofuel rated to minus 70 degrees F.

The formulation is fairly easy, because the freezing point of ethanol is -173 degrees F.

[formercia]

9. It's not your daddy's bio-fuel

It's a highly refined product, just using a different feedstock.

[ejbrush]

13. Give me a break -

An A-10 will probably fly on unsalted sweet cream butter if you can get in the fuel filler.