Commercial Airline's Biofuel Test Flight Successful

Continental Airlines conducted a successful test flight of a commercial aircraft running on a biofuel mixture on January 7, 2009. The aircraft's number 1 engine operated on 100% traditional jet fuel, while the second engine used 50% biologically-derived fuel and 50% traditional jet fuel. The biofuel blend consisted of components derived from algae and jatropha plants - "sustainable, second-generation fuel sources that don't impact food crops or water resources and don't contribute to deforestation." Continental While some biofuel mixtures require modifications to the engine in order to operate, the algae/jatropha biofuel used is a "drop-in" fuel, requiring no modifications to the aircraft or engine. “The airplane performed perfectly,” said test pilot Rich Jankowski. “There were no problems. It was textbook.”

This was the first biofuel-powered demonstration flight of a U.S. commercial airliner.

Read what Continental has to say here

Link to my post Defending Small Scale Ethanol