C-17 flies cross country on synthetic fuel

[unhappycamper]

C-17 flies cross country on synthetic fuel
By Patrick Winn - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 17, 2007 19:10:11 EST

Today was the day the first C-17 Globemaster flew across the country powered by synthetic fuel.

A Globemaster — its tanks half-filled with standard jet fuel and half with a synthetic, coal-derived fuel — flew Dec. 17 from Washington’s McChord Air Force Base to New Jersey’s McGuire Air Force Base. The B-52 bomber is already certified to use this fuel mix and full certification is expected for the C-17 in coming months.

It’s the latest milestone in an effort to prove all of the Air Force’s fleet can use this domestically produced synthetic fuel by 2011. By 2016, the Air Force wants all of its flights in the continental U.S. powered by the mix, touted as cleaner and less reliant on petroleum piped from foreign soil.

Looking further into the future, Assistant Secretary William Anderson with the Air Force’s Installations, Environment and Logistics department estimated that synthetic fuel could power jets on live, operational missions by the middle of next century.

“We believe we need domestic sources of aviation fuel so we can fight tonight and fight tomorrow,” he said.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/12/airforce_synthetic_fuel_1217/



uhc comment: Coal? :wtf:

http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/003453.html
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/002476.html

A voice of sanity speaks up -->

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=bca&id=news/bca0907p3.xml

However, it is not generally seen as a solution to global warming or the mitigation of greenhouse gases, as the F-T refining process releases more carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere than the refining of crude oil. On the other hand, when burned, its carbon emissions are about the same as those of conventional petroleum-based fuel. Also, as F-T fuel's energy density and performance replicate those of conventional Jet-A and military JP-8, it can be used as a so-called "drop-in" substitute; hence, the Air Force's interest in using it. And as a number of experts interviewed by B&CA have pointed out, the United States still holds huge reserves of coal.