B1-B to Make First Supersonic Flight Powered By Synthetic Fuel Blend
18 March 2008
Air Force Times. An Air Force B-1 bomber on Wednesday will make the first supersonic flight powered by a 50-50 synthetic fuel blend. (Earlier post.)
The B-1B Lancer will run all four of its engines on the 50-50 blend of Fischer-Tropsch jet fuel and JP8 during the four-hour flight out of Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.
The Air Force’s goal is to certify all its airframes on the fuel blend by 2011, and to run all flights on the blend by 2016. The Air Force’s synthetic fuel initiative has already resulted in the flight certification of the B-52 Stratofortress and successful qualification ground testing of the engine that powers both the C-17 Globemaster III and the Boeing 757 using the 50-50 blend.
Go Air Force! This is a step in the right direction.
Posted by: ejj | 18 March 2008 at 05:11 PM
WOW...that is showing some confidence in this to run an expensive limited production exotic plane on this.
Posted by: sjc | 18 March 2008 at 08:25 PM
Especially an exotic high cost bomber which has a pretty nasty history of falling out of the sky...
Posted by: Patrick | 19 March 2008 at 10:13 AM