FORT WORTH, Texas - The aviation industry is pushing the boundaries of innovation on various fronts, and sourcing sustainable fuel sources to reduce greenhouse emissions is one of the big ones. Bell Textron has announced it successfully completed a flight using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in a Bell 505, Amy Wilder reports for Flying. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
24 February 2023 - Bell collaborated with Safran Helicopter Engines, manufacturer of the Arrius 2R engine on the Bell 505; GKN Aerospace, the fuel system component supplier; Neste, the SAF supplier; and Virent, Inc., a Marathon Petroleum Corp. subsidiary that manufactures renewable fuels and chemicals. Safran Helicopter Engines and GKN Aerospace conducted thorough testing on the engine and fuel system components.
The Bell 505 is a five-seat aircraft that uses a fully integrated Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite and Safran Arrius 2R engine with a dual-channel FADEC.
Neste and Virent collaborated to blend, test, and deliver the SAF for this project as a 100% drop-in fuel. SAF, made from used cooking oil or other bio-based feedstocks, typically must be blended with petroleum products because it doesn’t include a component called “aromatics,” which is required to meet today’s aviation fuel specifications. Virent manufactures an aromatics component made from renewable plant sugars, which was added to Neste’s neat SAF, eliminating the need to blend SAF with petroleum fuel. The SAF supplied for this test flight by Neste and Virent is therefore a “100% drop-in” replacement for petroleum-based aviation fuel, requiring no engine modifications.
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Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
