Aviation fuel
[1] Jet-A powers modern commercial airliners and is a mix of extremely refined kerosene and burns at temperatures at or above 49 °C (120 °F).
It is a high-quality fuel; if it fails the purity and other quality tests for use on jet aircraft, it is sold to ground-based users with less demanding requirements, such as railroads.
Its formulation is distinct from the conventional gasoline (UK: petrol) used in motor vehicles, which is commonly called mogas or autogas in aviation context.
They are, however, not being used heavily, because they still face political, technological, and economic barriers, such as currently being more expensive than conventionally produced aviation fuels by a wide margin.
Studies have been done on the feasibility of using natural gas[11] and include the "SUGAR Freeze" aircraft under NASA's N+4 Advanced Concept Development program (made by Boeing's Subsonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) team).
[12] The low specific energy of natural gas even in liquid form compared to conventional fuels gives it a distinct disadvantage for flight applications.
Hydrogen has a severe volumetric disadvantage relative to hydrocarbon fuels, but future blended wing body aircraft designs might be able to accommodate this extra volume without greatly expanding the wetted area.
Specific cases are: Aviation fuels consist of blends of over two thousand chemicals, primarily hydrocarbons (paraffins, olefins, naphthenes, and aromatics), additives such as antioxidants and metal deactivators, biocides, static reducers, icing inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors, and impurities.
[24] Bi-lateral air services agreements govern the tax exemption of aviation fuels.
Australia and the United States oppose a worldwide aviation fuel tax, but a number of other countries have expressed interest.
[27] The planned inclusion of international aviation into the European Union Emission Trading Scheme in 2014 has been called an "illegal tax" by countries including the US and China, which cite the Chicago Convention.
The aperture on fuel tanks of aircraft requiring avgas cannot be greater than 60 millimetres in diameter.
[30][31] Jet fuel is clear to straw-colored and is dispensed from a special nozzle, called a J spout or duckbill, that has a rectangular opening larger than 60 mm diagonally, so as not to fit into avgas ports.
However, some jet and other turbine aircraft, such as some models of the Astar helicopter, have a fueling port too small for the J spout, and thus require a smaller nozzle.
This, along with rapidly changing airline schedules and the desire to not carry excess fuel on board aircraft, has increased the importance of demand forecasting.
In March 2022, Austin's Austin–Bergstrom International Airport came close to running out of fuel, potentially stranding aircraft.
[32] Common forecasting techniques include tracking airline schedules and routes, expected distance flown, ground procedures, fuel efficiency of each aircraft and the impact of environmental factors like weather and temperature.
[34] Pressure fueling systems incorporate a dead man's switch to preclude unmonitored operation.
Airport firefighting forces are specially trained and equipped to handle aviation fuel fires and spills.
