One team performing at this weekend’s Sioux Falls airshow will have a little something extra powering their
planes - ethanol!
The “Vanguard Squadron” has been flying on ethanol since 1993.
“It’s just a hoot and you get to show off….” Left wing pilot Steve Thompson has 21-thousand hours flight time. He says their ethanol powered planes are more than good marketing. Thompson says ethanol allows the plane’s engines to run cooler. “Because it runs cooler it allows you to pull more power out of the engine.”
Even though they’re doing stunts flying at high speeds in the air, the team has complete faith in each other.
And as for getting scared in the air, Steve Thompson says it’s not an issue for him. “I can’t remember the last time I got scared in an airplane.”
Ethanol can power more than just cars. Congratulations to the Vanguard Squadron team for utilizing home-grown, renewable fuel. Good luck this weekend!
If you’re looking for a way to beat the heat this summer, stay inside and log-on to your computer to play Barrel Blaster, a great online game from the folks at the American Coalition for Ethanol.
The premise of the game is simple - “Greentown is being overrun by marauding hordes of oil” - and it’s up to you to save the city by shooting down oil barrels when they come on-screen with your weapons - “ethanol zappers.”
You get to choose between a motor scooter, a VW bug, and a Hummer, all of which come with different strengths. The scooter will provide more agility, but the Hummer comes with more strength. Choose wisely, those barrels come at you fast!
You can gain more points and bonuses to boost your health or fuel by finding flowers and butterflies, and you lose points if you shoot any of the wildlife.
This is an awesome game and a great tool to send to your friends to get the discussion started about alternative fuel. Plus it’s really fun to play!
This just in from the Renewable Fuels Association:
The RFA and the Buffalo Chip Campground are partnering to encourage the use of homegrown ethanol at Sturgis, the annual motorcycle ride through South Dakota this summer.
“It is a natural pairing – America’s love affair with the motorcycle and the open road and its premiere renewable fuel,” said Renewable Fuels Association Director of Market Development Robert White says in the RFA’s press release. “At nearly 10% of the nation’s fuel supply, ethanol can be found in nearly every gallon of gasoline sold. It is providing a growing renewable alternative to petroleum that is safe and effective for use in all engine types, including motorcycles.”
RFA’s also providing merchandise for the ride, including t-shirts for staff, volunteers, and riders.
Click here to see what the t-shirts look like.
There’s been some misinformation lately about ethanol and small engines like those in motorcycles, so getting information directly to that crowd about the virtues of ethanol should be great.
To learn more about the Stugis Motorcycle Rally, click here.
Senator John Thune of South Dakota has written an op-ed for the inside-the-beltway publication The Politico
entitled “Biofuels are a long-term renewable solution” that appeared today in the print edition of the paper.
Sen. Thune talks about ethanol and biofuels, and how they are an alternative to foreign oil available now:
As Congress, the administration and the private sector look for ways to reduce our consumption of imported oil, we should not overlook the most readily available domestic alternative to imported oil: biofuels. The development of the biofuels industry has created jobs across the nation and given agricultural producers new, reliable crop markets, while decreasing our demand for fossil fuels.
After discussing how important biofuels are, Sen. Thune talks about barriers that may slow the industry’s development:
I find it unacceptable that after several years of crafting a national energy policy that promotes renewable fuels, the greatest threats to the renewable fuels industry are arbitrary and misguided government regulations. The United States will not achieve energy independence if Congress both promotes renewable fuels and enacts laws that limit the future growth of our biofuels industry.
Sen. Thune has been a biofuels supporter for quite some time and makes some interesting points. Click here to read this op-ed.
The Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition released its newest first-responder training materials today. Entitled Complete Training Guide for Ethanol Emergency Response, the package includes two videos, an instructor’s guide, interactive workshops and seven modules and PowerPoint presentations, each focusing on a specific and important aspect of ethanol response.
The materials were created to provide the country’s first responder firefighting teams with information to better fight ethanol incidents. With recent questions about fighting these kinds of incidents, this materials definitely comes at the right time.
The EERC has a wealth of information for the first response community and their website is an incredible resource. Check it out.
The complete guide is available on the EERC website here.