UK transport plane successfully flies on cooking oil as fuel
UK’s
Royal Air Force has successfully completed a flight
test of a military transporter aircraft fueled by cooking oil!
An RAF Voyager completed the flight over Oxfordshire while being
powered exclusively by 100% sustainable aviation fuel which could open a number
of possibilities for military and civilian aircraft.
The mission was a collaborative effort between the
RAF, DE&S, and business partners Airbus, AirTanker, and Rolls-Royce.
Air bp provided the gasoline for the flight.
Sustainable aviation fuel, which is created from waste-based
sustainable feedstocks such as used cooking oil, often reduces lifecycle carbon
emissions by up to 80%, lessens the RAF's reliance on global supply networks,
and improves operational resilience, as per a government press release.
"The Royal Air Force has flown the UK's first military air
transport flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel on one of their
operational Voyager aircraft. They should be rightly proud of this achievement;
it is a breakthrough moment for the RAF and an exciting development for the
MOD," Defence Minister Baroness Goldie said in a news release.
This accomplishment follows the RAF-led small aircraft UK flight
fueled by 15 liters of synthetic gasoline in November, which also set a global
record. Water and carbon dioxide are combined to create synthetic fuel, which
is then put under pressure and given an electric current to ignite.
Senior RAF and business executives observed the 90-minute flight
from RAF Brize Norton that a team of RAF, Rolls-Royce, and Airbus flight test
pilots flew to simulate an air-to-air refueling sortie.
Source: www.techtimes.com