"CHANGE username to westes" wrote in
message ...
Since taking up aviation as a hobby, I have wondered why gasoline, and
similar oil-derived liquid fuels, have become the defacto standard for all
forms of general aviation and commercial and military aircraft.
Comparing
Jet fuel to something like natural gas, Jet fuel is four times as
expensive.
Liquid fuels are extremely heavy, and certainly airplanes do not need
extra
weight.

This leads me to wonder why haven't engines been commercialized that can
burn gas-based fuels? Is the only reason safety, because of the
explosive nature of gas fuels like natural gas or hydrogen?

Isn't there some way you could use two separate gases, which in their
separate state are inert, but combined together under high pressure,
become
explosive? Such a combination would not ignite if the airplane crashed
(you could separate the gases into separate containers on each side of the
airplane, at the wingtips), but in controlled injection into a high
pressure
compartment could be made explosive in a controlled way, in a very limited
space.

Think how much fuel is being wasted each day on airplanes, simply to
support
the extra weight required to carry the fuel itself. Think how dangerous
airplanes are during relatively survivable impacts to the ground,
primarily
because they are gasoline bombs. I would be very interested to read
about
efforts to develop gas based engines for general aviation or commercial
aircraft. I would appreciate any pointers to web sites or books.

Your mistake is to assume that gases are always lighter than liquid fuels.
Obviously they are under normal pressure but to be any use as fuels for a
vehicle they have to be compressed and/or liquified. This negates any
apparent weight gains. You also need to factor in the weight of insulation
and/or pressure vessels.

Weight for weight petrol and kerosine are very energetic indeed.

One of the greatest challenges facing us will be how to make hydrogen into a
usable form for cars and aircraft as the oil reserves we currently use begin
to run out over the next fifty years or so.

John