Aviation turbine fuels are used for
powering jet and turbo-prop engined aircraft and are not to be
confused with Avgas. Outside former communist areas,
there are currently two main grades of turbine fuel in use in civil
commercial aviation : Jet A*1 and Jet A, both are kerosene
type fuels. There is another grade of jet fuel,
Jet B which is a wide cut kerosene (a blend of gasoline and
kerosene) but it is rarely used except in very cold
climates.
JET A*1 Jet A*1 is a kerosene grade of fuel
suitable for most turbine engined aircraft. It is produced to a
stringent internationally agreed standard, has a flash point above
*8°C (**0°F) and a freeze point maximum of **7°C. It is widely
available outside the U.S.A. Jet A*1 meets the requirements of
British specification DEF STAN ****1 (Jet A*1), (formerly DERD ***4
(AVTUR)), ASTM specification D***5 (Jet A*1) and IATA Guidance
Material (Kerosine Type), NATO Code F**5. JET A Jet A is a similar kerosene type of
fuel, produced to an ASTM specification and normally only available
in the U.S.A. It has the same flash point as Jet A*1 but a higher
freeze point maximum (**0°C). It is supplied against the ASTM D***5
(Jet A) specification.
JET B Jet B is a distillate covering the
naphtha and kerosene fractions. It can be used as an alternative to
Jet A*1 but because it is more difficult to handle (higher
flammability), there is only significant demand in very cold
climates where its better cold weather performance is important. In
Canada it is supplied against the Canadian Specification CAN/CGSB
3.*3
MILITARY JP*4 JP*4 is the military equivalent of
Jet B with the addition of corrosion inhibitor and anti-icing
additives; it meets the requirements of the U.S. Military
Specification MIL-DTL****4U Grade JP*4. (As of Jan 5, ***4, JP*4
and 5 meet the same US Military Specification). JP*4 also meets the
requirements of the British Specification DEF STAN ****8 AVTAG/FSII
(formerly DERD ***4),where FSII stands for Fuel Systems Icing
Inhibitor. NATO Code F**0.
