F-22 Raptor hits supersonic speeds on synthetic biofuel

F-22 Raptor hits supersonic speeds on synthetic biofuel: "

Filed under: Etc.

On March 18th, an F-22 Raptor took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California. The Raptor hit supersonic speeds on a 50/50 fuel blend of conventional petroleum-based JP-8 (jet propellant 8) and biofuel derived from camelina, a weed-like plant. Jeff Braun, director of the alternative fuels certification division, had this to say of the flight:

The F-22 ... performed flawlessly on the biofuel blend citing no noticeable differences from traditional JP-8.

The overall test's objective was to evaluate the biofuel's suitability in the F-22. Testing consisted of air starts, operability and performance at varying speeds and altitudes. The Raptor performed maneuvers including a supercruise at 40,000 feet and hit speeds of Mach 1.5 (approximately 1,000 miles per hour) without using the engine's afterburner.



Overall, the flight was said to be a major success and should help the Air Force meet its long-term goal of acquiring 50 percent of its aviation fuel from renewable domestic sources.



[Source: Edwards Air Force Base]

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F-22 Raptor hits supersonic speeds on synthetic biofuel originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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