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n yet another first in aviation history, a B-1B Lancer from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, flew at supersonic speed over Texas and New Mexico using alternate fuel on March 19. To date, the Air Force has successfully completed test flights on three airframes using a 50/50 blend of traditional JP-8 jet fuel and synthetic fuel, certifying operational use of the fuel in the B-52H Stratofortress last August. In December, a C-17 Globemaster III, using the synthetic fuel blend, completed a transcontinental flight from McChord AFB, WA, to McGuire AFB, NJ. “The Air Force is taking a leadership role in testing and certifying the use of synthetic fuel in aircraft,” said Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne. The fuel blend is being tested as part of an ongoing Air Force program to help the environment and use domesticallyproduced fuel. Using the Fischer-Tropsch
“The Air Force is taking a leadership role in testing and certifying the use of synthetic fuel in aircraft,” said Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne. process—which converts carbon-based materials into synthetic fuel—Air Force officials plan to evaluate and certify this alternative fuel for use in all Air Force aircraft by 2011. Within the federal government, the Air Force is the single largest user of aviation fuel, using an estimated 3 billion gallons per year. Each time the price of oil goes up $10 per barrel, it costs the Air Force an additional $610 million for fuel. The 18 | Defense Transportation Journal |
JUNE 2008
Fischer-Tropsch process gives the Air Force a cleaner, more cost-efficient fuel source. Synthetic fuel created using the Fischer-Tropsch process costs an estimated $30 to $50 less per barrel than its petroleum counterpart. Still, saving money is not the only reason the Air Force is looking to use synthetic fuel. Synthetic fuel has the potential to reduce the United States’ dependency on foreign energy sources.
“It causes angst to know that we’re faced with a commodity that some might use against us,” Secretary Wynne said during the B-52 Fischer-Tropsch certification ceremony at Edwards AFB, CA. “We want to provide our nation a look forward to something else and essentially join with numerous researchers who are looking for alternatives . . . and find the solution.” Finding a cleaner alternative for the environment is also a major driver for the Air Force to certify the Fischer-Tropsch fuel blend in all airframes. German chemists Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch developed the method at the Kaiser Wilhem Institute during the 1920s. “Essentially, using a number of chemicals and catalysts, what [chemists Fischer
