They loaded up the fuel tanks with fresh canola oil refined to biodiesel, started the engines, and the 1968 L-29 Czechoslovakian jet, nicknamed BioJet 1, soared into the sky from a Reno, NV airport. It’s the first recorded time that a jet plane used biodiesel as a fuel.
It was a three minute flight, revving the engines to 98 percent of capacity, but certainly enough to be a nonissue in climb performance and time to attain altitude.
The jet was acquired from the Ukrainian military and is one of the few planes capable of using biodiesel. It has a built-in fuel warming system that keeps biodiesel fluid at colder temperatures.
Doug Rodante, president of Green Flight International said a 20 percent blend of biodiesel and normal jet fuel would work perfectly well in other jet aircraft without modifications. That would mean fewer emissions of carbon dioxide by as much a 50 percent.
Tests are continuing at Green Flight and the jet has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration for until proved safe to fly long distances. Once done, Rodante plans to fly the jet from Reno, Nev to Orlando, FL in eight stops. After that, he hopes to fly a similarly fueled plane around the world.
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Max Lindberg
My home state is Illinois, and my hometown a little railroad/farming community named Galesburg.We lived on a small farm during my high school years and I became very aware of nature and it's wonders. I loved the out of doors, working with animals, plowing fields and harvesting crops. Those were very good years.After a stint in the Army during the Korean war my broadcasting career took off at the local radio station, a 250 watt "teapot" as it was called in those days. My first job was as an engineer, then the ham came out and I became an announcer/newsman, graduating after several years to a larger market and a stint as a TV journalist/photographer. Cold, wet weather led me to the southwest where I've lived for most of the last 40 years, with a couple of years out to have fun working as a private investigator in San Francisco, and a few years working in Las Vegas hotels and casinos. In all, its been a real ride.After retiring a few years back I became fascinated with the efforts being made to find alternative energy sources. I've watched our environment deteriorate during my lifetime, and now it's my chance to join the chorus of intelligent and caring individuals making a difference one day at a time.
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