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Porter Airlines
Operates Canada's First Biofuel-Powered Revenue Flight By Eddy Metcalf |
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April 22, 2012 - Porter Airlines successfully conducted
the first biofuel-powered revenue flight in Canada. In
the successful conclusion to a test program that was
launched in 2010, the airline flew one of its Bombardier
Q400 turboprops from its base at Billy Bishop Toronto
City Airport to Ottawa using a 50/50 blend of biofuel
and Jet A1 fuel in one of its engines. The fuel was certified to the new American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D7566/D1655 standard and the biofuel used was derived from the oilseed crops, Camelina sativa* (49 per cent) and Brassica carinata* (one per cent).
The aircraft?s other engine was powered by Jet A1 fuel.
The flight included passengers making their way to
Ottawa for business and pleasure, representatives from
the biofuel test program?s partnering organizations and
media. |
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This is
the final step in a two-year project whose key members are
Targeted Growth, Bombardier Aerospace, Pratt and Whitney Canada,
the manufacturer of the PW150A engines that power the Q400
aircraft, and Porter Airlines. Funding for the biofuel test
program was provided by the key partners, as well as by
Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE) through
the Green Aviation Research & Development Network (GARDN).
Additional
support to the program was provided by Agrisoma Biosciences
Inc., which grew the carinata and produced the carinata bio-oil;
Sustainable Oils, which crushed the camelina to make the
camelina bio-oil; Honeywell UOP, which converted the bio-oils
into the bio-derived jet fuel to meet the D7566 standard; and
SkyNRG who were responsible for logistics and blending meeting
the D1655 specification.
?In a fitting tribute to
Earth Day 2012, which is now less than a week away, we are
delighted that one of our Bombardier Q400 turboprops has become
the first aircraft to successfully conduct a biofuel-powered
revenue flight in Canada,? said Robert Deluce, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Porter Airlines. ?The use of biofuels
promises to significantly reduce the level of emissions produced
by commercial aircraft worldwide, and Porter is honoured to have
contributed to this test program in Canada.? |