Porter Airlines operates Bombardier Q400 in Canada's first biofuel-powered revenue flight

Porter Airlines successfully conducted the first biofuel-powered revenue flight in Canada. In the successful conclusion to a test program that was launched in 2010, the airline flew one of its Bombardier Q400 turboprops from its base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to Ottawa using a 50/50 blend of biofuel and Jet A1 fuel in one of its engines. The fuel was certified to the new American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D7566/D1655 standard and the biofuel used was derived from the oilseed crops, Camelina sativa (49%) and Brassica carinata (1%). The aircraft’s other engine was powered by Jet A1 fuel. This is the final step in a two-year project whose key members are Targeted Growth, Bombardier Aerospace, Pratt and Whitney Canada, the manufacturer of the PW150A engines that power the Q400 aircraft, and Porter Airlines. Funding for the biofuel test program was provided by the key partners, as well as by Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE)through the Green Aviation Research & Development Network (GARDN).