Texas State Technical College Airport in Waco is the nation’s first U.S. Department of Energy designated “Clean Airport”, because of its commitment to the development and use of alternative aviation fuels. TSTC in Waco has provided crucial support and resources to the Renewable Aviation Fuels Development Center at Baylor University in the effort to certify aircraft to use pure ethanol as fuel. There is an ethanol fueling facility on site and four aircraft powered by ethanol. The college’s aviation facility has earned a distinguished reputation as a pioneer in promoting alternative fuels.
Max Shauck, head of Baylor University’s Aviation Sciences Department, led the effort to win the U.S. Department of Energy designation for the TSTC Airport. Shauck, along with his wife, made the first trans-Atlantic flight in an ethanol-powered plane.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a voluntary Clean Airports Program in hopes of further increasing the use of alternative fuels. The Clean Airports Program is a spin-off of the Clean Cities Program, which encourages use of alternative fuels for cars, trucks and buses.
The removal of lead from fuel, as mandated by the Clean Air Act, provides a great challenge to the aviation industry. An unleaded alternative will soon be required to replace avgas. The Renewable Aviation Fuels Development Center (RAFDC) at Baylor University has proven, in the course of sixteen years of research and development, that 100% denatured ethanol has all the desired technical characteristics to replace 100 LL avgas. In addition, ethanol, even at today’s prices, is economically competitive with aviation gasoline. The RAFDC at Baylor University will assume Clean Airport program administration.
According to John Russell, Director, Office of Alternative Fuels, DOE, “Clean Airports will notify the public there’s a clean-burning alternative out there. Replacing avgas with ethanol will not only improve the environment and reduce foreign oil dependency, it can help aircraft owners save money as well. I anticipate a year or two from now an airplane will be able to fly from here to Minnesota on ethanol and refuel as many times as it needs to.”
To qualify for a “Clean Airport” designation, an airport must have alternative fuel facilities; have at least one airplane running on alternative fuel based at the airport; have an alternative fuel education program; and have a ground vehicle running on an alternative fuel.
For a copy of the brochure “A Guide to Establishing a Clean Airports Program in Your Community”, call us at 1-800-68-PILOT.