Navy Flies "Green Hornet" With Biofuel Blend.

The Wired (4/23, Paur) "Danger Room" blog reports, "It's starting to feel like hardly a week goes by without getting a press release regarding a jet flying on a new biofuel somewhere in the world. The Navy and Boeing did manage to time this latest move well by flying an unmodified F/A-18 Super Hornet on Earth Day with a 50/50 blend of camelina sourced biofuel and traditional JP-5 fuel powering the jet." This was the first flight of the "Green Hornet," which "flew as expected with no surprises, according to the pilot." Upcoming flights will test the blend for the first time at supersonic speeds. However, "To date there is no consensus on what kind of feedstocks will be the preferred fuel source for the Pentagon or where the feedstock for the fuel will come from."

Pratt & Whitney Promoting New Geared Turbofan Engine.

The Wall Street Journal (4/30, Sanders, subscription required) reports on Pratt & Whitney's desire to rebound in the commercial aerospace industry via a new engine that is has spend the past decade developing. The new engine, the Geared Turbofan, boasts improved fuel efficiency and lower noise than anything on the market. The company has an opportunity with Boeing and Airbus, as both are decided if they will re-engine their most popular aircraft with the Geared Turbofan. David Hass, P&W's president, said "This is not a paper engine. It's been through a tremendous amount of testing on the ground and in a flight-test program we ran in 2008. It demonstrated everything we've asserted in the marketplace." Nevertheless, the article notes a few hurdles still remain for P&W to secure a contract with either of the two major companies.

Airbus Open To Non-IAE Geared Turbofan

AviationWeek (5/10, Guy Norris) Airbus says it is now prepared to accept an A320 re-engining proposal from Pratt & Whitney based on the geared turbofan (GTF) amid increasing signs that Rolls-Royce will not be persuaded to buy in to the initiative under the existing International Aero Engines partnership. Until now, Airbus has pushed for any GTF proposal for its A320 neo (new engine option) to be sourced through IAE, mainly to help preserve commonality with the existing supply base behind the V2500 turbofan used on the A320. Airbus Programs VP Tom Williams says, “We’d prefer it to be an IAE solution and if, in the end, they cannot find a way of focusing together on a GTF solution, then we are willing to work only with Pratt.” Williams also adds that it is increasingly likely the engine selection will not be an either/or solution between the GTF and CFM International’s competing Leap-X, a new-technology successor to the CFM56. “In the end, it will be both engines, not one or the other.” The timing of which goes first “is up to the market to decide.” Should Rolls opt finally to decline a role in the GTF, “Pratt will find other partners” eager to step into the gap, says Williams. Although cautioning that the entire re-engining initiative “is not a done deal,” Williams adds, “I presonally believe it is the right thing to do.” “It’s not a fait accompli about whether we will re-engine or not,” says Airbus Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy, who confirms the timeline for the $1 billion-plus decision is stretching to the right. Engineering resources are taxed with improving the A380, as well as developing the A350 and A400M. “There is a lot on our plate. That’s the reason the decision won’t be taken for another few months, and maybe not until around the end of the year,” Leahy says.Reinforcing the point, Williams adds, “This is such a big and important decision that we’re not going to be hidebound by a particular air show,’ he says, referring to previous plans by Airbus to announce the A320 neo decision at the Farnborough Air Show. Reflecting on the choices arrayed before the company, Williams says the GTF, in particular, still has many questions to answer before it can be considered a safe bet. “Do we believe the performance claims and can that performance be delivered in a way that doesn’t sacrifice performance? On GTF, can we convince ourselves the technology for the gearbox is now mature? So can it work in all conditions -- for example, with contaminated oil? Can the gearbox live with that? So there’s lots of questions to answer and quite a bit of the business case to go through.”