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Boeing 747-8
Freighter To Fly To Paris Air Show On Sustainable Biofuel By Steve Hall |
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June 20, 2011 - Boeing will 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.
It
will be the world's first transatlantic crossing of a
commercial jetliner using biologically derived fuel. The
airplane is scheduled to arrive at Le Bourget Airport
today (Monday) at about 5 p.m. Paris local time after a
4,989-mile trip. 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). |
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"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 U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
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. |