Biofuels recently got a big boost from the U.S. Navy with an
announcement that Naval Air Systems Command would flight test
fighter jets running on biofuels next spring or summer. This is
a big vote of confidence for biofuels, given that fuel failure
in a combat aircraft is likely to be a life-threatening event,
particularly at higher speeds.  The Navy plans on putting three
types of biofuels through their land-based paces by test firing
engines in December and January of 2009. This is the second big
aviation biofuels announcement in August, coming after an
announcement that biofuels will be certified for use in
commercial aviation by 2011. Last week, Rick Kamin, the Navy
fuels lead, stated that "Our major goal is a drop-in
replacement" for the Navy's petroleum-based fuels. "The field
won't know the difference." That's an amibitous but worthy goal.
Both military and commercial flight budgets are highly exposed
to oil price fluctuations. If such fluctuations and political
risk exposure can be eliminated, its li