The Laggards Lead Again
Japan airline in world first 'camelina' biofuel test flight: "Today is an extremely important day for Japan Airlines, for aviation, and for the environment. The demonstration flight brings us ever closer to finding a greener alternative to traditional petroleum-based fuel. When biofuels are produced in sufficient amounts to make them commercially viable, we hope to be one of the first airlines in the world to start powering our aircraft using them." -- JAL president Haruka Nishimatsu
World`s first. First. You know, I`m so used to hearing the Japanese described as laggards by the uninformed that it`s nice to read otherwise. JAL, along with Boeing and Pratt and Whitney, flew a 747 on kerosene jet oil mixed with plants and alga. I wonder what that tasted like. Can seaweed, miso, and nato be next? More on Nishimatsu here and here. He seems to be an executive with a clue.
World`s first. First. You know, I`m so used to hearing the Japanese described as laggards by the uninformed that it`s nice to read otherwise. JAL, along with Boeing and Pratt and Whitney, flew a 747 on kerosene jet oil mixed with plants and alga. I wonder what that tasted like. Can seaweed, miso, and nato be next? More on Nishimatsu here and here. He seems to be an executive with a clue.
Not really a first, I think. This flight is a month earlier and uses non food bio-fuel... www.airnewzealand.co.nz/aboutus/biofuel-test
Posted by Tony Reeves on February 01, 2009 at 02:39 PM JST #
oh, that`s cool. Thanks for that link. When I re-read the JAL article I see at the bottom that this is Boeing`s 4th test. Perhaps they were referring to the one you cite? And I think the JAL article`s headline qualifies things a bit by saying the first "camelina" test. Anything to be first, eh? :) Maybe they are messing around with different fuel mixtures (and actually, maybe that`s non trivial). The larger point I was getting at is that Japanese companies (in this case, JAL) can be among the leaders in any given area. Anyway, thanks again for the link.
Posted by jimgris on February 01, 2009 at 05:18 PM JST #