News

642nd CBSG tests synthetic fuel blend on AGE

  • Published
  • By Amanda Creel
  • 78 ABW/PA
Robins Air Force Base, GA --  The buzz surrounding the use of Fischer-Tropsch fuel is here to stay as another base group and its base partners recently joined together to test the synthetic fuel on two pieces of aerospace ground equipment.

The testing took place Aug. 28 near the 116th Air Control Wing AGE maintenance facilty under the direction of the 642nd Combat Sustainment Group, who is the single manager for common support equipment and vehicles for the Air Force.

At 10 a.m. the R-11 fuel truck from the 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron arrived ready to dispense the synthetic fuel to the air conditioning and generator units.

The group tested the 50-50 blend derived from natural gas and JP-8 jet fuel by operating an air conditioning system and a generator set on the fuel.

All of the equipment tested was aerospace ground equipment owned by the 116th Air Control Wing. The three units combined resources to orchestrate a test run of the fuel.

"The generators are a high value asset in the desert. They are used to power the plane when it's on the ground, so you don't have to run the jet engines all the time," said Jason Hogan, an electronics engineer with the 642nd CBSG.

The air conditioning unit cools the cabin while it is sitting on the ramp, said Harry Smith, an engineer with the 642nd CBSG.

The testing of the AGE was done at the direction of the Secretary of the Air Force who has required all equipment and aircraft in the Air Force's fleet to be certified on the synthetic blend by 2011.

Bill Likos, an engineer with the 642nd CBSG, said he expected the test to increase the confidence the Air Force had in the synthetic fuels ability to support the Air Force mission, especially in relation to AGE.

"I'm happy to report all the equipment started up and has been running fine on the 50-50 fuel," Mr. Likos said.

Mr. Likos said he expected the tests to be classified as a non event, but that there has to be a first time for everything.

He added one of the biggest benefits of certifying the support equipment to operate on this fuel is that operating on this fuel could be transparent.

"That's the beauty of it. It won't require any changes," Mr. Likos said.

He said some of the other benefits of the fuel is it is a cleaner burning fuel and it has a high cetane number. A cetane number is similar to an octane number used with traditional gasoline. The higher the number, the better the fuel.

Mr. Hogan said after the successful testing of so many aircraft throughout the Air Force fleet including the testing of the F-15E Strike Eagle here Aug. 19, it is important to ensure the equipment supporting these aircraft can run on the same fuel as the aircraft.

"That's the bottom line; you don't want to have a have a separate fuel for the AGE equipment and the aircraft," Mr. Hogan said.

He added not only is the legacy testing important to the certification of the existing equipment, the tests will also influence future equipment procured by the Air Force.

"We've got to make sure this old stuff is going to run on it and know what kind of specs to use in our new equipment and the equipment that will still be here in 2016," Mr. Hogan said.

Robins is not the first area to test AGE as part of the directive, but is the first to test these particular pieces of equipment on the fuel, Mr. Likos said. Testing has also taken place at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich., and Edwards Air Force Base in Calif.

Tony Blaxton, 78th LRS fuel operations superintendent, described the testing both of the aircraft and AGE as "a stepping stone for improving national energy security."

Mr. Blaxton said the team met the challenge even though storing the fuel was a "new world" for them, but that the prospect of future less dependence on foreign fuel made it worth the effort.

The 78th LRS fuels team wasn't the only one who was excited to have a role in the synthetic fuel testing.

"I am a huge proponent of diversifying our dependence on foreign oil. Anything we can do to help, we will do," said 1st Lt. Tim Balthazar, the 116th MXS's AGE flight commander.