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Student Engineers Build Hyperloop Test Pods That Set a New Speed Record (bbc.com)

Engineering students from the Technical University of Munich have won a hyperloop competition that aims to refine the technologies that could underpin the super-fast transport system. According to the BBC, "The team's pod hit 457km/h (290mph) on a 1.2km (0.75 mile) test track." This marks the third win in a row for the team. From the report: In the latest round of the competition, the Munich team, WARR Hyperloop, outpaced rival capsules, which could manage speeds of only 88mph (Delft University) and 55mph (EPF Loop, from Switzerland), to beat its own record speed, 323km/h, set in the second competition, in September 2017. In a change from earlier competitions, all the pods being tested this time had to be self-propelled. Previously, the pods could rely on a SpaceX-built "pusher" vehicle that helped them travel down the test tube.

92 comments

  1. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    1) This is a scale model. You cannot just do a simple comparison.
    2) The track was only 1.2 km including the portion needed for deceleration. How many Kilometers does it take for a Maglev to reach top speed? You would have to go back to point #1 to calculate the comparison.

  2. Re:Trump will set a new Federal prison record by NettiWelho · · Score: 0

    Go home Hillary you're drunk

  3. Re:Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    290 mph is fucking pathetic. A regular maglev can do nearly 100 mph faster.

    And a commercial passenger jet can travel at double that speed. And doesn't require spending billions of dollars to build hundreds of miles of track.

    The hyperloop makes as much sense as the Springfield Monrail.

  4. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A maglev is 1000's of times heavier and can carry thousands of people. I am sure if you made a scale model with no passengers like this pod you could easily reach its top speed and stop in that distance. maglev has the potential to accelerate at G forces that would render many passengers unconscious and similar for deceleration. The limiting factor is not the technology, it is the soft squishy things riding inside.

  5. Going about it backwards? by Jerry · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Rather than pump the air out of the tube, treat the tube like a wind tunnel and blow air through the tube, or through injectors along the tube, at what ever speed you want the vehicle to go. For 100 - 500 Km stretches pumping tons of air out of the tube would take hours and maintaining the vacuum would take a lot of expensive energy. The inside of the tube could be dimpled or treated in some way to reduce the Reynolds Number. The positive pressure would keep the weather out and make leaks easy to find ... they'd whistle.

    --

    Running with Linux for over 20 years!

    1. Re: Going about it backwards? by WindBourne · · Score: 3, Informative

      Just the opposite. Pushing air down the tube is very energy intensive to get it up to speeds. The air will drag on the tube, so no, that is not good. Finally, while it will take energy to drop the pressure, it will be little to no energy to maintain, assuming tight seals.

      --
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    2. Re: Going about it backwards? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It will require a massive amount of energy to run pumps running 24/7 to maintain vacuum.

    3. Re:Going about it backwards? by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      " For 100 - 500 Km stretches pumping tons of air out of the tube would take hours and maintaining the vacuum would take a lot of expensive energy."

      Of course. The hyperloop is an idiotic idea that goes back over 200 years. There is a reason it doesn't work. The idea of maintaining any kind of vacuum of any sort in such a system is preposterous.

    4. Re:Going about it backwards? by oic0 · · Score: 1

      How would you moderate acceleration? You'd need a larger diameter tube to allow the excess air to bypass the pod otherwise it would be like being fired out of an air rifle.

    5. Re: Going about it backwards? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tight seals on a multi-mile tube, with interior-only repairs or high heat differential (depending on the version), under high stress, differential loading, and built at the lowest cost possible? If you say so.

    6. Re:Going about it backwards? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      Rather than pump the air out of the tube, treat the tube like a wind tunnel and blow air through the tube

      That works for short distances and low speeds where airflow is laminar. At higher velocities, the airflow will become turbulent and drain energy.

      Using air pressure for a long high speed tube like SF to LA would be insanely inefficient.

      Pneumatic tubes have been around for centuries. There are good reasons that their applications are limited.

    7. Re: Going about it backwards? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The difference between software engineers and mechanical engineers. The former uses ideal systems every day. The latter requires a firm grasp on reality's shortcomings.

    8. Re: Going about it backwards? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Assuming you never want to put anything into it or take anything out...

    9. Re: Going about it backwards? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not a vacuum, and no it doesn't. See the original white paper.

    10. Re: Going about it backwards? by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      OK, OK, it is not a perfect vacuum, we all know that; in fact nothing is a perfect vacuum, not even outer space. OP's point remains unanswered though.

    11. Re: Going about it backwards? by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      It will require a massive amount of energy to run pumps running 24/7 to maintain vacuum.

      It would require even more massive amounts of energy to blow air at high speed, even if not the whole 24/7, down 100's of miles of tube at high speed.

    12. Re: Going about it backwards? by pauljlucas · · Score: 1

      If you get one seal failure anywhere along the line, it renders the entire stretch unusable. A tube going the length of, say, a state, would contain thousands of seals. The mean time to failure becomes way too small to make the system usable.

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    13. Re: Going about it backwards? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The original white paper calls for 1/1000 atmosphere which is a vacuum retard.

    14. Re: Going about it backwards? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      it will be little to no energy to maintain, assuming tight seals.

      Assuming virtually perfect seals. I suspect the energy consumption will be fairly dramatic for even the smallest leaks across several hundred miles of tube.

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    15. Re: Going about it backwards? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which also explains why the concept of hyperloop came from a software guy and not a mechanical engineer.

      There's a reason all the work being shown on these things is by students. Professionals know it's a fools errand.

    16. Re: Going about it backwards? by Agent0013 · · Score: 1

      Just like the professionals know that trying to land a rocket booster is stupid and will never work! It took an "idiot" to figure out how to do that.

      --

      -- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
  6. Re:Is this a joke? by EETech1 · · Score: 1

    Can it accelerate to that speed, and stop again in 1.2km

    Look up how much distance it takes a supercar. World record 0-400-0 is 2.4 km.

    So it only takes half the distance of the world record setting Koenigsegg Agera and it got another 50 km/h.

    Lame

  7. Re: Is this a joke? by gravewax · · Score: 2

    maglev is artificially limited in acceleration and deceleration to protect the passengers. really it is a very big rail gun that could easily accelerate at speeds that are dangerous/deadly for the passengers. so getting to speed and back again is not a problem, getting to speed and down again with passengers intact is another matter.

  8. Let's All Sing Together by labnet · · Score: 1

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
    MonoRail... MonoRail.... MonoRail....

    --
    46137
    1. Re:Let's All Sing Together by RickyShade · · Score: 0

      Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang

  9. Re:Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    cars are limited by traction, horsepower and downforce they can generate and they must do this independent of external power sources. comparing them to a train or a pod is idiotic as the same physical limitations don't apply.

  10. Re:Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can it accelerate to that speed, and stop again in 1.2km

    A maglev? easily. maglev is limited for safety of passengers not due to technical limits. you can accelerate/decelerate a maglev as fast as the passengers can withstand.

  11. Re:Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can it accelerate to that speed, and stop again in 1.2km

    No because competent engineers think about things like not killing their passengers.

  12. Finally! by sunking2 · · Score: 2

    A fast and efficient way for kids to get to the Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good.

  13. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And if I was building Hyperloop tunnel to scale model, I wouldnâ(TM)t incorporate full strength magnets. I would design the magnets to be the same strength in scale. You gain nothing useful by build a rail gun

  14. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The question wasn't whether it was sane to do, the question was whether or not a maglev could accelerate and stop in that distance and the answer is most definitely yes. Just like it is not sane to accelerate a pod to that speed and decelerate in that distance as it would be incredibly dangerous to the passengers health.

  15. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow you are a massive retard. Why don’t you learn what a maglev is first before you say something stupid again.

  16. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    maglev is artificially limited in acceleration and deceleration to protect the passengers. really it is a very big rail gun that could easily accelerate at speeds that are dangerous/deadly for the passengers

    I feel dirty, but that sentence makes me smile.

    Zoom ... splat.

    Tell the politicians it's VIP travel.

  17. Re: Trump will set a new Federal prison record by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lick my balls TRUMPite.

  18. Re: Is this a joke? by kiminator · · Score: 1

    What's your point? Any transportation scheme will have the same limitations. Hyperloop is just a less efficient, more dangerous concept that doesn't have decades of proven engineering behind it.

  19. Scenery scmeanery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who needs scenery or fresh air when every time you open the window your eyes pop out of your head and your lungs jump out of your chest.

  20. 290 mph is impressive by WindBourne · · Score: 2

    I am curious about the full conditions of the track/tube that they do not tell us about. However, the average commercial jet cruises around 540 mph. So this is more than 1/2 of typical commercial jets. So, they are getting there. In addition, hyperloop should be cheaper to run than a jet. While tracks have to be put in, and pressure brought down, hyperloop should have much lower labor hours, lower drag (9000 meter vs 36000 meter ), and much lower energy costs.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    1. Re:290 mph is impressive by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      You cannot be serious.

    2. Re:290 mph is impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No musk cultists really are seriously that retarded.

    3. Re:290 mph is impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      cheaper to run than a jet? oh really? do you think those tubes are going to maintain themselves? or the massive pumps required to depressurise the tubes are going to be cheap to run? labour costs I would expect to be much much higher as not only are you maintaining the airport/tubeport and the vehicle, you are also maintaining hundreds of kilometres of tubes and pumps, the energy required to keep them pressurised will be massive. There are good reasons this very very old concept hasn't been adopted, maybe one day it will be better and more efficient, but that day is certainly not anytime soon.

    4. Re:290 mph is impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, and solar roadways will pay for itself.

    5. Re:290 mph is impressive by djinn6 · · Score: 1

      It's not that impressive honestly. The Shanghai maglev can run at 311 mph and it's a full-sized train that's been in commercial service since 2004.

      Besides, just being fast doesn't cut it. An SF to LA plane ticket is $50 and it'll get you there in 2.5 hours, security line included. That's very hard to beat whether you're going with conventional high speed, maglev or hyperloop.

    6. Re:290 mph is impressive by serviscope_minor · · Score: 3, Informative

      Even the TGV which is a normal rail train has hit 360mph in an experimental configuration.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    7. Re:290 mph is impressive by samwichse · · Score: 1

      Cheaper than A jet? No.

      Cheaper than a fleet of jets? Maybe. We'll see.

    8. Re:290 mph is impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A fleet of jets go to multiple locations. The retard tube can only go between two points.

  21. Re:Trump will set a new Federal prison record by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't worry, Trump's not going to leave his new home alive. Leavenworth.

  22. Re: Is this a joke? by gravewax · · Score: 1

    Wasn't making any particular point, just informing the deluded OP who seems to be under the mistaken impression that maglev is not capable of such acceleration.

  23. Mixing units by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    TFS mixes mph and km/h. Poor practice to report the slower ones in mph and the fastest in km/h; it makes the difference look larger. It's large enough that you don't need to exaggerate it.

  24. Fluff, all of it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Either Musk has a great idea that is just waiting for more swing, from his personal posse of enginerds while pumping the schools full of it, or they are all stumped with this engineering madness that was settled in the 70's, and require new talent to try and find an actual method to achieve his preposterous claims of making a fully interconnected tunnel with hyperspeeds in a vacuum (or lets just split hairs and make it a partial one) while maintaining full safety from rapid decompression.

  25. LOOK at the winning prototype! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It quite literally looks like a surfboard. It is not much taller than the track it's riding on. I could fire a bullet down the track and it would go very fast, but by no means would I call it a 'prototype.'

    Yet another rigged 'competition' to grab headlines for a snake-oil project.

    Come back when a scale-model prototype that is somewhat similar to the size of the pipe and could carry scale sized passengers reaches this type of speed.

    1. Re:LOOK at the winning prototype! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This with bells on

      IT's just a fucking stupid idea hyped by hype boy himself..

  26. China Trains by balsy2001 · · Score: 2

    Normal high speed trains (CRH) in China travel at 300 kph. The maglev train from Shanghai to Pudong International travels at ~430 kph. I have been on both types at these speed (they conveniently put the current speed in every car). The maglev does always travel this fast, ostensibly due to energy demand during peak usage (couple of times I was on it we only broke 300 kph). The shanghai maglev is about 30km long. Hyper loop needs to be much faster to impress me given the existing in-service trains.

    --
    GENERATION 27: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
    1. Re:China Trains by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah but 300kph is only like about 50mph, right? Too slow for me, I'll stick to my pickup truck.

    2. Re:China Trains by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, come on now. It's only called the Hyperloop, not the Super Hyper-Duperloop Turbo

    3. Re: China Trains by bn-7bc · · Score: 1

      Hmm either ypu ar joking or yor math is way off 300 kph is about 186mph I think your picupmtruck may have trouble reaching that speed unless it is drasticl modified

    4. Re:China Trains by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Meh, I'll waqit for the Super Hyper-Duperloop Turbo Plus Ver 2

    5. Re:China Trains by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      with Akuma.

    6. Re: China Trains by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He probably just likes going down really high cliffs.

  27. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    About 6 km to reach 350 kph for the Shanghai maglev...

  28. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I spent 4 hrs at the airport to take a 1hr plane ride that was actually 2:30 because I flew over where I wanted to go to wait at another airport to fly back to the other one. The actual flight time isn't a problem its everything else associated. I was flying in my same state, went to another (to the east which also isn't where I wanted to go) and the back to get to my destination

  29. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It only takes that long because of passenger safety. trains generally try to keep acceleration in the region of 0.1 G's give or take a little. much more than that and you start to have unpleasant effects, injuries etc.

  30. Re: Is this a joke? by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    Oddly, it was not using maglev, just electric motors and wheels.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  31. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A rail gun is a totally different animal than maglev.

  32. Re: Is this a joke? by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 1

    1) This is a scale model. You cannot just do a simple comparison. 2) The track was only 1.2 km including the portion needed for deceleration. How many Kilometers does it take for a Maglev to reach top speed? You would have to go back to point #1 to calculate the comparison.

    Only a scale model you say? OK, how about this unmanned scale model? (Mach 8.5 or 6,416 mph) http://www.af.mil/News/Article...

    --
    Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
  33. Re:Is this a joke? by djinn6 · · Score: 1
    Super cars aren't even in the same league as the best dragsters. The quarter-mile (400 m) record was set by Sam Miller's Vanishing Point. It took just 3.58 seconds and reached a top speed of 386 mph (621 km/h).

    As for maglevs, they're just really toned-down coil guns. In 1978, the USSR sent a 2-gram ring to 5000 m/s in just 1 cm of length. That's 250 times more acceleration than a regular gun, which produces muzzle velocities of 1200 m/s over a 60 cm long barrel. So if you want to get somewhere really really fast and you're okay with not arriving in one piece, coil guns have you covered.

    In more survivable applications, the US Navy is investigating electromagnetic catapults on their carriers:

    The EMALS' 300-foot (91 m) LIM will accelerate a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg) aircraft to 130 kn (240 km/h; 150 mph).

    If you extend its length to 600 m, it'll be able to reach 900 mph (400 m/s) while carrying the weight of a fully-loaded fighter jet.

  34. Re: Is this a joke? by f3rret · · Score: 1

    ...You gain nothing useful by build a rail gun

    Except...you know..you get a railgun.

    --
    Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
  35. Re:Is this a joke? by f3rret · · Score: 4, Funny

    Can it accelerate to that speed, and stop again in 1.2km

    No because competent engineers think about things like not killing their passengers.

    Cowards...

    --
    Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
  36. Re: Is this a joke? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    Why would it have to be less efficient when it minimizes aerodynamic drag by design? Perhaps some other things compensate for it, but overall I don't see an inherent reason for it to be less efficient.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  37. PEDO speed record set by FElon Musk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a PEDO.

    I cant believe the modWHORES are still shillibg his bullshit.

    I cant wait for these "students" to build a model submarine and prove those kids should have just waited through 6-18 months of submarine development.

  38. Re: Shanghai train is full of chinks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slants are way more tolerable than camel jockies.

  39. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And none of those problems would be fixed by hyperloop. Security is going to be just as tight. The stops will be even more limited. Now scheduling might be improved. A smaller craft leaving every 10 minutes is going to make it easier to match people's schedules. If you ignore the ginormous capital costs, the per rider maintenance and operation costs may or may not be competitive with airlines.

  40. Re: Is this a joke? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    The other big problem for all types of transport is noise. Current high speed rail is limited not by the technology but by the amount of noise it generates, especially when tunnels are involved. Maglev has the same issue.

    Would be interesting to see the noise implications of Hyperloop. Obviously they have the partial vacuum, but it's still moving a lot of air and creating pressure waves. And you will need lots of them with such a low capacity.

    --
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  41. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the whole maintaining a vacuum, that really dampens the efficiency. You see, when talking very large vacuum chambers, it's really hard to keep air from leaking in, so you have to work really hard to keep it out, and that takes a lot of energy.

  42. Re: Is this a joke? by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

    That minimization of aerodynamic drag comes at a cost, namely keeping a leaky tube at a near vacuum while the system is in operation. What energy you might gain in reducing drag by a negligible amount (overland high speed passenger trains are already pretty good at this) is more than made up for by constantly having to pump air out of a tube that's hundreds of miles long.

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  43. Footnote by Translation+Error · · Score: 1

    To be fair, the Delft University entry possibly reached a speed greater than what was entered in the official record, but the judges were obligated to use the speed the pod had obtained when it inexplicably vanished, leaving behind only a trail of flames.*


    *As an interesting coincidence, it should be noted that the Delft University pod most closely resembled the ones depicted in Elon Musk's initial concept drawings.

    --
    When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
  44. Pods would need to be pressurized by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the tube is a vacuum, then the pods would need to provide oxygen and be pressurized for occupants. This seems like another complication of the hyperloop concept that maglev doesn't need to deal with.

  45. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Indeed, you'd arguably be better off creating lower friction paints and some sort of train car to travel ahead for the larger train to draft off of.

    Really, you'd be better off with some sort of super high airport that wouldn't require the planes to gain all that altitude as that's where most of the energy wasted on flying is and you could potentially power most or all of that with renewable energy that doesn't need to be carried onboard.

  46. Re:Is this a joke? by cellocgw · · Score: 1

    In more survivable applications, the US Navy is investigating electromagnetic catapults on their carriers:
    The EMALS' 300-foot (91 m) LIM will accelerate a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg) aircraft to 130 kn (240 km/h; 150 mph).

    If you extend its length to 600 m, it'll be able to reach 900 mph (400 m/s) while carrying the weight of a fully-loaded fighter jet.

    Not arguing with the math there, but I rather doubt anyone ever wants to hit Mach 1.2 on the flight deck.

    --
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  47. the hyperloop is dumb and a waste of time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  48. Re: Is this a joke? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    There's no vacuum, only significantly decreased pressure. It's a little bit like the difference between metallurgic grade silicon and IC-grade silicon. The difference in silicon contents is rather small but still one of the two is significantly cheaper than the other. The hyperloop concept reminds me more of the high altitude test chambers for rocket engines like NASA's B-2 facility which maintains decreased pressure continuously even with a rocket engine inside the vacuum chamber spitting a hundred kilograms of exhaust gases into it every second.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  49. Re: Is this a joke? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    See my comment above.

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    Ezekiel 23:20
  50. Re:Is this a joke? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    And a commercial passenger jet can travel at double that speed. And doesn't require spending billions of dollars to build hundreds of miles of track.

    ...and it can't run off of electricity. That's a bit of a bummer.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  51. Re: Is this a joke? by kiminator · · Score: 1

    The inherent reason it's less efficient is that it's based off of the concept of pods, which carry a lot less than trains carry. Furthermore, maintaining the low-pressure tunnels is a massive (and expensive) engineering challenge fraught with risk.

    When it comes to complex engineering projects, often times simpler is better. I doubt that the hyperloop concept will ever outpace high-speed trains in terms of cost or efficiency.

  52. Re: Is this a joke? by kiminator · · Score: 1

    The problem with air travel long-term is it really depends upon fossil fuels because of their power density.

  53. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's no vacuum, only significantly decreased pressure.

    That’s what a vacuum is you fucking stupid retard.

  54. Re: Is this a joke? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    Careful with those aneurysms! ;)

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  55. Re: Is this a joke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it really isn't. both use magnetic propulsion. yes a maglev uses a linear motor to provide a gradual power but the concepts are basically the same in using magnetism to accelerate an object. maybe coil gun is better comparison but that is just being pedantic.

  56. Re: Is this a joke? by nasch · · Score: 1

    It depends on high energy density fuel, but it doesn't have to come from fossil sources. There is currently no commercially viable source of renewable fuel for jet travel but that could change eventually.