There have been a number of stories about the new Boeing 797 aircraft.

Boeing is preparing a 1000 passenger jet that could reshape the Air travel industry for the next 100 years.The radical Blended Wing design has been developed by Boeing in cooperation with the NASA Langley Research Centre.The mammoth plane will have a wing span of 265 feet compared to the 747’s 211 feet, and is designed to fit within the newly created terminals used for the 555 seat Airbus A380, which is 262 feet wide.The new 797 is in direct response to the Airbus A380 which has racked up 159 orders, but has not yet flown any passengers.Boeing decide to kill its 747X stretched super jumbo in 2003 after little interest was shown by airline companies, but has continued to develop the ultimate Airbus crusher 797 for years at its Phantom Works
research facility in Long Beach, Calif.

It is a very cool looking aircraft. Sadly, according to Boeing’s Blog it’s just not true.

Yes, too good to be true, indeed, Walter. Someone was having a bit of fun with PhotoShop perhaps. Boeing is not planning to build a 1,000 passenger commercial airplane dubbed the “797,” based on the blended wing body (BWB) concept or any other futuristic concept. It’s certainly not in our commercial market forecast, which goes out for 20 years. We think the commercial airplane market favors point-to-point routes, and we’re developing the 787 as the perfect match to help meet that demand.

The New York Times Reported today:

Virgin Atlantic said Monday that it would conduct a demonstration flight next month of one of its Boeing 747 jets using biofuel — the first airborne test of a renewable fuel by a commercial jet.

Related
Dot Earth: Jumbo Jet to Fly (Partly) on Biofuel (January 14, 2008)

The airline, founded by the British billionaire Richard Branson, said a 747-400 plane would make the one hour and 20 minute journey from London Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam in late February using 20 percent biofuel and 80 percent conventional jet fuel. The test, without passengers, is part of a joint research project announced by Virgin, Boeing and the aircraft engine maker GE Aviation.

The airline declined to identify the source of the biofuel, though Paul Charles, a Virgin spokesman, said the carrier had rejected fuels derived from crops like palm oil because of the huge land area that would need to be devoted to cultivation for fuel production.

“It will be a very sustainable fuel source,” Mr. Charles said, adding that its production would not compete with food or fresh water resources.

Interestingly enough, this same story when reported at news.com.au specifically quoted an expert who said:

“Biodiesel is a complete scam because in the tropics the growing demand is causing forests to be burnt to make way for palm oil and similar crops,”

So apparently the copy of the press release they received did not include that part about rejecting crops like Palm Oil.

What I really wonder is that if the airplanes, like so many bio-diesel cars, will smell like French Fries.