First Biodiesel Jet Successfully Flies

Czechoslovakia (TGW) – The Czech Republic, in coordination with Biodiesel Solutions Inc. tested the first flight fueled solely by cooking oil.

The first actual flight was a test flight that lasted 195 seconds yesterday. The first full flight lasted 37 minutes, and attained a height of 17,000 feet.

"She flew and she flew just fine," said physicist Rudi Wiedemann, president and CEO of Biodiesel Solutions, Inc., whose company provided the fuel for the historic October flight: fresh canola oil refined into biodiesel. "We wanted to show that it was doable by just going out and doing it."

Revolutions per minute in the engine were at 98%. "We didn't get full power, but we got an acceptable amount" Doug Rodante, president of Green Flight International, said. "It was a non-issue in climb performance and time to altitude."

The problem with using biodiesels or biofuels as fuel for airplanes is that at higher altitudes, the fuel can freeze. "Jet fuel and biofuel mix is something that is easily done. I don't believe 100 percent biofuel is the answer," Rodante said. "We can implement a 20 percent mix with no modifications in other aircraft."

"As little as 20 percent biodiesel in petroleum diesel fuel will reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent," Wiedemann said.

Via :: Scientific American