The Green Hornet.

When I hear 'Biofuel' I initially thought of people taking fry oil from McDonald's and putting it into their modified Volkswagen Van. What I didn't think of was a strike fighter jet screaming through the air traveling at 1.8 Mach. Yet this is precisely what the Navy has been developing: A FA-18 Super Hornet strike fighter jet aptly named "The Green Hornet". It runs on a mixture that is 50/50 Biofuel / Regular Fuel. As of April 22nd, the flight tests have been successful, the Green Hornet is airborne and performs as if it's running on regular fuel. However, I wonder if the biofuel has the same energy content per gallon as regular fuel, because if it doesn't one would only be able to fly shorter missions or increase fuel tank size.

"Any more objections to Healthcare? I didn't think so."

Ray Mabus, the Secretary of the Navy says: "It's important to emphasize, especially on Earth Day, the Navy's commitment to reducing dependence on foreign oil as well as safeguarding our environment. Our Navy – alongside industry, the other services, and federal agency partners, will continue to be an early adopter of alternative energy sources.”

Adopting biofuels is no small matter, because airplanes, tanks, humvees and other armored transports require a lot of fuel. If the United States is able to supplement the fuel supply with biofuels, it hopefully will reduce the demand for foreign oil. However the question remains : Does the U.S. have ample resources to create enough biofuel to displace significant quantities of petroleum-based fuel? If so, how much of it will be allocated for civilian or military use?

Here's a video of the Green Hornet in action :
You can read the press release here:
http://www.navair.navy.mil/press_releases/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.view&Press_release_id=4309&site_id=20

Photo Courtesy : https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzeJwS8WGUvaax5r2OVZ0rVK-v_k5SPkfR6Hvq4_dSOQGbF9BhyX0-TjJHlydY1i014vhg1fgPnv0dnmlJGcunIoFXftv5TtI1Wv4EYRRSpKPXaSNEOh17QofNhhYliPxBh4dYFI4eRog/s1600/OBAMA+at+Joint+Base+Andrews+Naval+Air+Facility+in+Maryland.jpg