GHG Emissions, Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  January 21, 2019

Gulfstream sets record using renewable fuel

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. used sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF) to power a record-breaking flight by its super-midsize Gulfstream G280 aircraft. The Savannah-to-Van Nuys, California, journey covered 2,243 nautical miles/4,154 kilometers in 4 hours and 49 minutes at an average speed of Mach 0.85.

"Gulfstream has been involved with SAJF since June 2011, when a Gulfstream G450 became the first business jet to cross the Atlantic on a blend of the fuel," said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream, in a statement. "Since then, we've taken ever-greater steps in supporting sustainability, including securing a dedicated supply of SAJF for our corporate, demonstration and flight-test fleet. Our company aircraft have already flown approximately 700,000 nautical miles on SAJF, saving more than 750 metric tons of carbon dioxide. SAJF is not only better for the environment, but using this fuel to set city-pair records highlights its performance capabilities.

By mid-2019, Gulfstream expects to offer SAJF to customers using the company's Long Beach facility. It also plans to use SAJF for its large-cabin completion flights departing from Long Beach Airport. Gulfstream has used a 30/70 blend of low-carbon, drop-in SAJF and Jet-A in daily operations at its Savannah headquarters since 2016.

According to the statement, the Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed SAJF is safe to use. It is chemically equivalent to conventional Jet-A and offers the same performance and safety standards. Each gallon of fuel burned achieves more than a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, relative to petroleum-based jet fuel, on a lifecycle basis. Gulfstream's sustainability strategy helps support the business aviation industry goals established by the National Business Aviation Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and the International Business Aviation Council. In addition to the goal of carbon-neutral growth by 2020, the industry-wide targets include an improvement in fuel efficiency and reduction in total carbon dioxide emissions.