- Dec 5, 2003
- 21,709
- 10,721
And to think some people have honestly considered parking perfectly good MD80s.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fuel...dlines-business
Air Force to Try Out a New Kind of Jet Fuel
A synthetic alternative could help cut costs for both the Pentagon and the nation's airlines.
By Peter Pae
Times Staff Writer
September 15, 2006
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE — If you think your fuel bill has skyrocketed, pity the people who operate the eight-engine B-52 bomber.
The lumbering aircraft, built in the 1950s when jet fuel cost a quarter a gallon, guzzles 47,000 gallons in a single mission. Today, that's $100,000 a fill-up.
Tally in the gas hogs in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere — fighter jets, bombers and cargo planes — and you can understand why the American taxpayer got a $5-billion fuel bill last year for the Air Force alone.
On Tuesday, the Air Force will begin test flights here that could represent a major step in the Pentagon's plan to find less costly sources of fuel. A B-52 will take off with two of its engines burning a new blend that may eventually replace the oil-based kerosene formula that has powered jet engines since they were invented.
The test flight, which will be observed by top military officials and airline executives, will mark the first time a U.S. aircraft will attempt to fly using fuel not refined from oil.
The Pentagon's initiative is drawing significant interest from U.S. airlines that have been hammered by steep oil prices. Jet fuel jumped from an average of 75 cents a gallon in 2001 to $2.01 last year, when U.S. airlines spent more than $33 billion on fuel, according to the Air Transport Assn., an industry organization.
click the link above for more of the article
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fuel...dlines-business
Air Force to Try Out a New Kind of Jet Fuel
A synthetic alternative could help cut costs for both the Pentagon and the nation's airlines.
By Peter Pae
Times Staff Writer
September 15, 2006
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE — If you think your fuel bill has skyrocketed, pity the people who operate the eight-engine B-52 bomber.
The lumbering aircraft, built in the 1950s when jet fuel cost a quarter a gallon, guzzles 47,000 gallons in a single mission. Today, that's $100,000 a fill-up.
Tally in the gas hogs in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere — fighter jets, bombers and cargo planes — and you can understand why the American taxpayer got a $5-billion fuel bill last year for the Air Force alone.
On Tuesday, the Air Force will begin test flights here that could represent a major step in the Pentagon's plan to find less costly sources of fuel. A B-52 will take off with two of its engines burning a new blend that may eventually replace the oil-based kerosene formula that has powered jet engines since they were invented.
The test flight, which will be observed by top military officials and airline executives, will mark the first time a U.S. aircraft will attempt to fly using fuel not refined from oil.
The Pentagon's initiative is drawing significant interest from U.S. airlines that have been hammered by steep oil prices. Jet fuel jumped from an average of 75 cents a gallon in 2001 to $2.01 last year, when U.S. airlines spent more than $33 billion on fuel, according to the Air Transport Assn., an industry organization.
click the link above for more of the article
