Washington-To-Paris Leg Is First Transatlantic Flight Of A
Biofuel-Powered Commercial Airplane
Boeing plans to fly the new 747-8 Freighter to its international
air show debut in a doubly historic fashion, flying the airplane
across the Atlantic Ocean to the Paris Air Show using a renewable
aviation jet fuel – which Boeing says is the world's first
transatlantic crossing of a commercial jetliner using biologically
derived fuel.
Boeing pilots Capt. Keith Otsuka and Capt. Rick Braun and
Cargolux Capt. Sten Rossby will fly the airplane with each of the
747-8 Freighter's four GE GEnx-2B engines powered by a blend of 15
percent camelina-based biofuel mixed with 85 percent traditional
kerosene fuel (Jet-A). The airplane is scheduled to arrive at Le
Bourget Airport Monday at about 1700 Paris local time (1500 GMT)
after a 4,335 nautical mile trip.
"This historic flight is a boost to aviation's efforts to reduce
carbon emissions and improve efficiency in all phases of our
industry," said 747-8 Vice President and General Manager Elizabeth
Lund. "And the 747-8 Freighter fits in well with these efforts by
bringing huge improvements in fuel efficiency, lower carbon
emissions and less noise."
Camelina, the plant source used to create the biofuel, was grown
in Montana and processed by Honeywell's UOP. Boeing does not need
to make any changes to the airplane, its engines or operating
procedures prior to departure to accommodate biofuel use. Normal
flight parameters are being followed and were approved in advance
by the FAA.
The airplane will be on static display at the Paris Air Show
June 21 and 22. It is scheduled to leave the air show the evening
of June 22 and fly to Cargolux headquarters at Luxembourg for a
two-day visit. Cargolux is scheduled to take delivery of the first
747-8 Freighter to enter service this summer.
ASTM International, the global standards body that oversees the
jet fuel specification in North America, recently approved an
amendment to the current specification to include fuels from
bio-based sources. The revised jet-fuel specification will be
published later this year, allowing use of the new fuels without
special approval. Industry efforts will shift to ramping up
production and work to ensure the sustainability of fuel sources
being considered.
Plant-based biofuels provide a net reduction in carbon due to
absorption of CO2 during the growth phase, and are a key element of
aviation's strategy for achieving carbon-neutral growth beyond
2020. Boeing, Honeywell's UOP, GE and other industry leaders have
worked for the past five years on sustainable aviation biofuel
development including commercial and military flight test programs,
laboratory and ground-based jet engine performance testing to
ensure compliance with stringent aviation fuel performance and
safety requirements.
Camelina, an energy crop grown in rotation with dry wheat, is
one of the biofuel sources identified during a comprehensive
regional analysis conducted by Boeing and others in the
Northwestern U.S. as part of the Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Northwest project. Boeing is guiding regional biofuel
assessments in Australia/New Zealand, Mexico, United Arab Emirates
and China to identify potential fuel sources that don't compete
with food or fresh water resources or contribute to deforestation.
The end goal is to establish regional supply chains that produce
aviation biofuel for blending with Jet-A, reducing the industry's
dependency on fossil fuels.