First Synthetic Fuel Air Force Fighter Flight Achieved
A historic flight occurred on Tuesday August 19th when a United States Air Force F-15 Eagle combat jet exceeded Mach 2 while powered by a synthetic fuel blend.
The flight marked the first time ever that a combination of synthetic and regular jet fuel had been used in an air superiority fighter and followed similar tests in which a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft and Rockwell B1b Lancer and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers had been used.
Synthetic Fuel Trials
In the opinion of the USAF's Alternative Fuels Certification Office's Director, Jeff Braun, fighter types like the F-15 posed a very different challenge to the aircraft employed in previous synthetic fuel trials.
"They are much higher performance and a much more demanding environment", Braun said, subsequently detailing the various aspects of Tuesday's tests.
In the morning, he stated, the F-15's engines were run at ground level, and afterburner engaged - a stage Braun described as "just another risk reduction step to prove the aircraft was not leaking fuel and the engines were behaving nominally."
Later on that same day, the F-15 took off for a "full functional check flight" lasting "about 55 minutes."
During this flight, it achieved Mach 2.2 - about 1,450 miles per hour.
Braun added that, post-flight, the F-15's pilots were asked if they were aware of any changes from their perspective.
"We asked them point-blank if they noticed any difference in performance and they said it was a 'non-event'", he said.
"In other words, they couldn't tell the difference. The aircraft behaved the same."
Further flight tests were being carried out as these words were typed, as detailed by Braun:
"We'll have two more sorties then the Robins [Air Force Base - where the tests are being carried out] engineers will put their final analysis and reports together."
"Hopefully, they will grant us the certification to use the fuel operationally if need be."
Air-to-Air Refuelling
The next aircraft to fly using the synthetic fuel blend will be the most technologically advanced fighter jet in the USAF's inventory - the F-22 Raptor. Its flight testing will include an air-to-air refuel from a KC-135 aircraft.
"Both will be flying on the synthetic blend and the KC-135 will be passing it to the F-22 in flight", Braun said.
Flight Tests
Looking further ahead, synthetic fuel flight tests are also set to take place using the USAF's vast C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft, the C-130 Hercules transporter and the F-16 fighter jet.
"We're doing our homework and analysis with every [airborne] platform", Braun explained.
"We're trying to get them through the process as expeditiously and safely as possible. We want to prove that our fleet can use a different fuel so that we can encourage industry to develop alternative sources."
Source - Armed Forces International's Aviation Expert
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