A-10 Thunderbolt Makes First Flight Using Renewable Jet Fuel Blend in All Engines

In brief: The United States Air Force has successfully flown an A-10C Thunderbolt II from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida using a Hydrotreated Renewable Jet (HRJ / JP8) blend of fuel.

Vehicle in the news

Make/Model: A-10C Thunderbolt II
Manufacturer: USAF

The word

The flight, which was conducted by he 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin, successfully showed that renewable jet fuels are viable in all Air Force operations, not just non-combat flights.

Mission data has not yet been analyzed, but Terry Yonkers, Asst. Secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, says that just leaving the ground and coming back safely was a testament to the fuel's viability. "The Air Force is committed to reducing our reliance on foreign oil," he said.

Test pilot Major Chris Seager, upon landing, declared the test flight to have had "no problems whatsoever."

And so ...

Good news from the aviation front. The military is one of the nation's largest users of fuels and the USAF uses more fuel annually than does the commercial airline industry.

Photo credits: USAF