F-22 Raptor flies on 50:50 blend with camelina-derived renewable jet
19 March 2011
An F-22 Raptor successfully flew at supercruise—supersonic flight without using the engine’s afterburner—18 March on a 50:50 fuel blend of conventional petroleum-based JP-8 and renewable jet fuel derived from camelina. The flight was the capstone of a series of ground and flight test events conducted by the 411th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base the week of 14 March for the Raptor using the biofuel blend. The Air Force selected the F-22 weapon system to be the biofuel blend flight test pathfinder for all fighter aircraft.
|
|
| An F-22 Raptor takes off at Edwards powered by biofuel blend. Click to enlarge. |
The overall test objective was to evaluate biofuel fuel blend suitability in the F-22 weapon system. Testing consisted of air starts, operability, and performance at different speeds and altitude throughout the flight envelope. The F-22 Raptor performed several maneuvers including a supercruise at 40,000 ft. reaching speeds of 1.5 Mach.
The camelina-derived synthetic fuel falls into a class of hydro-processed blended biofuels known as hydrotreated renewable jet fuels (HRJs). The HRJ fuel can be derived from a variety of plant oil and animal fat feedstocks. Air Force officials in February certified the entire C-17 Globemaster III fleet for unrestricted flight operations using the HRJ biofuel blend.
The F-22 flew on Friday, March 18 and performed flawlessly on the biofuel blend citing no noticeable differences from traditional JP-8.
— Jeff Braun, director of the Alternative Fuels Certification Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
The overall flight was a success and another milestone completed for the Alternative Fuels Certification Division in support the Air Force’s 2016 acquisition goal to cost-competitively acquire 50% of the domestic aviation fuel requirement via alternative fuel blends in which the component is derived from domestic sources produced in a manner that is greener than fuels produced from conventional petroleum.
This is a bigger deal than people think...the Air Force is the biggest user of fuel in the military. The military is the biggest user of fuel in the U.S. government. Certification for use in fighter jets increases overall credibility of the 50-50 fuel.
Posted by: ejj | 19 March 2011 at 05:38 AM
This is great, Edwards is where they broke the sound barrier and now they have broken the fuel barrier. If they find that the engines last longer and need less maintenance then it can become even more popular.
Posted by: SJC | 19 March 2011 at 09:01 AM
Synthetic fuel made from natural gas or other materials, including biomass, is what is needed now for cheap and always available liquid fuels. All efforts and monies show flow in this direction. Every US military base in the US ought to be making its own jet fuel and fuel for other bases. Electronic controls and ceramic membranes allow for smaller automatic processes. The US military is attempting to standardize on jet fuel for all its needs, and all nations should also start this process. Converters and filters can be developed to clean up the exhaust from piston engines, and Capstone and other turbines require little or no exhaust clean up because of the continuous combustion.
I will not have to wait for many more years until a Capstone turbine is put into a small propeller aircraft with electric drive. Switched reluctance motors and generators seem to be the lightest weight of any, and they are reliable with great robustness. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 19 March 2011 at 03:48 PM