Business Aviation & the Environment

Business Aviation & the environment

Rolls-Royce Trent XWB Inside

Legislation ��22 ATC ��24 Europe’s ETS raises more Engines �� 26 Alternative fuels ��30 questions than answers Life cycle ��32 More-electric systems ��34

here is no silver bullet for reducing the effect by Jennifer Harrington-Snell

of business aviation on the environment, most Support for the EU’s emissions trading threshold: all non-commercial operators industry analysts agree, but the combination scheme (ETS) plumbed new depths this past must register, even if they emit as little as T year, leaving operators on both sides of the one ton of CO2 per year in an EU aerodrome. of new technology–such as engines and airframe Atlantic questioning the validity of the in- Commercial operators, meanwhile, are ex- components–improved ATC techniques and biofuels dustry’s continued participation. The situ- empt from the reporting process if they emit ation became so precarious, in fact, that in less than 10,000 tons of CO2 annually (or fly promises to dramatically reduce business aviation’s May the European Business Aviation Asso- fewer than 243 flights in three consecutive carbon footprint. Governments have also stepped in ciation (EBAA) openly called the directive four-month periods). “a mess” and threatened to advise its mem- Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that non- with legislative restrictions, such as Europe’s emissions bers to withdraw support. In spite of some commercial operators will be given an ex- positive developments in recent weeks, emption anytime soon, according to EBAA trading scheme, in an attempt to make aviation more some operators–particularly those in the president and CEO Brian Humphries. A environmentally friendly. U.S.–are beginning to wonder if non-com- change in the status of non-commercial pliance is an option. operators would require support from The chief complaint among operators each of the EU’s member states to change is that the directive favors the airlines and the “mother” directive. “Our only hope is places business aviation–especially small, that the member states will become fed up private operators–at a disadvantage. A par- spending 80 percent of their time looking ticular bone of contention is the exemption after thousands of small emitters [who

22aaAviation International News • September 2010 • www.ainonline.com produce] less than 1 percent of will be able to get those credits at the ETS],” Humphries said. “But There is some speculation Court of Justice are successful, the emissions,” Humphries said. a reduced cost. But the small pri- because the tool is under devel- that the EU might view this pro- and the ETS is found to be illegal “But we’re not hanging our hats vate operator will just be trying to opment and it looks as though gram as a measure equivalent to in the context of the Chicago on that.” thumb his way through as he navi- it will go ahead, at the moment the ETS, thereby giving the op- Convention and international avi Although the situation isn’t gates the markets.” we’re saying, ‘Stick with it.’” erators who take part a means ation rules. likely to change for non-com- Business aviation operators In April, the UK High Court of exemption. The ETS regula- “Operators are following the mercial operators, the exemption are also at a disadvantage in ruled that a lawsuit filed by the tions recognize other nations’ challenges and national legislation to threshold for commercial opera- terms of free credit allowances, Air Transport Association (ATA) approaches to environmental miti see what happens over the next year- tors might increase. According to according to David Carlisle, could be referred to the Euro- gation, Brown said. “If the Euro- and-a-half,” Brown said, adding that Humphries, Eurocontrol will be CEO of ETS Aviation. The cur- pean Court of Justice for a pre- pean Commission views some- the aviation industry recognizes the making changes to the monitoring, rent system allows operators to liminary ruling on the validity of thing that has been done in the value in reducing its impact on the reporting and verification (MRV) apply for free credits, based on the EU directive that established U.S. as an equivalent approach, environment. “That, coupled with guidelines as early as next year. an aircraft’s payload weight and the ETS. Although the ruling in theory it could decide that the reality that there always has to It’s possible, therefore, that the the distance flown. Because the doesn’t actually change any- the ETS would not apply to U.S. be an eye on cost benefits, is the commercial threshold–which isn’t scheduled airlines and freight thing, it was a victory for opera- operators,” he said. point of view people have. The avi- as difficult to change–will be in- companies carry so much weight, tors in the U.S., many of whom The U.S. is also considering ation industry wants to have min- creased to 25,000 tons of CO2 per they can get a “large, substantial believe the ETS violates inter- so-called “energy” legislation, but imal impact on the environment, year. “It’s not as high as we would portion” of their carbon allow- national law, the jurisdiction of nothing is finalized, and no one but whatever is done to accomplish like, but it is higher than 10,000,” ance for free. ICAO and the principles set forth is sure how the bill will affect that should be cost effective. There’s Humphries said. Business aircraft, meanwhile, at the Chicago Convention. aviation. “The legislation isn’t that broad opinion that the ETS does not don’t carry as much weight. “The UK courts decided the specific yet,” Brown said. “It’s even fit that criterion.” Bizav Disadvantaged “Business aviation will get a low complaint had enough merit and unclear to what extent the legis- Another area of concern is proportion of credits compared was really a community-wide lation will affect transportation The Cost of Compliance the carbon credit auction pro- to the airlines,” Carlisle said. complaint,” said Steve Brown, as a whole. It’s so early in the dis- One of the biggest frustra- cess. Currently, carbon credits “That’s quite unfair.” NBAA’s senior vice president of cussion, it could go either way.” tions for operators in the U.S. are available at auction in blocks Airlines and freight compa- operations and administration. Given these developments, and Europe is the question of of 500–a daunting figure for a nies could get as much as 87 per- “So it’s been elevated and will be operators in the U.S. know there cost. “The carbon credit market small operator that might need cent of their carbon allowance acted on at some point.” are a number of possible out- is generally seen as a young or only 15 or 20 credits per year. for free, according to Hartley. In the U.S., the FAA is consid- comes regarding the ETS: First, immature market,” Brown said. Carbon credits cost approxi- The best estimate for business ering a “Cash for Carbon” pro- the ETS will go into effect in “It hasn’t been around for a long mately €14 ($18), and each credit operators is 5 to 10 percent. “If gram, in which the administration 2012, and U.S. operators would time, and prices have varied offsets a metric ton of CO2, or you’re flying into Europe only would set aside up to $6.5 billion be forced to comply. “This as- quite a lot in the time it has been roughly 1,100 pounds of fuel. once a year, you’ll never save over four years to help commercial sumes that no legislation passes open. So knowing what the price The industry had originally enough money in free allow- and GA operators who voluntarily in the U.S., there is no recogni- of a credit might be in 2012 is lobbied for one-credit auctions ances to make up even the ini- commit to carbon-neutral growth tion in Europe of an equivalent pretty speculative; it’s difficult to for small emitters, but the idea tial application fee [for the free from 2020 onward. The money approach, and the legal chal- estimate what the cost might be. was dismissed. “If you talk to allowances],” Hartley said. “In would fund ADS-B in/out, RNP lenges to the ETS have failed,” It’s a good question, but nobody any economist, [a one-credit corporate aviation, we’re always and Rnav avionics equipment, air- Brown said. “All of that is seen really knows the answer.” auction] would have driven the going to come out as losers.” space redesign projects, and the as being unlikely.” Although the cost of the ac- price of carbon credits through Regulators should consider the FAA’s Cleen (continuous lower Another possibility is that tual carbon credits is unknown, the roof,” said Adam Hartley, percentage of occupancy, rather energy, emissions and noise) re- the U.S. passes legislation that operators are already getting a Universal Weather & Avia- than weight and distance, Carl- search project. If the operators do Europe views as an equivalent taste of the administrative costs. tion’s supervisor of regulatory isle said. “If the aircraft is full, you not reach a 2005 baseline in emis- approach. “In that case, the ETS The UK, for example, charges services. “The European Com- should get a good amount of your sions by 2050, they would have would not apply,” Brown said. £750 ($1,185) to submit the mission would rather see an in- emissions back in free credits, just to reimburse the funding they re- And third, the legal chal- original MRV plan, as well as termediary buy 500 credits and as the airlines do.” ceived or buy carbon offsets. lenges currently in the European Continues on next page u distribute them.” Although business aircraft op- EBAA, meanwhile, is “not erators are at a huge disadvantage happy” the threshold has been in several different areas, there is set at 500 credits and is consid- hope in one regard: Humphries is ering the possibility of becoming “quite encouraged” and believes “it a handling or distribution agent won’t be long now” before the ETS for its members, or identifying Support Facility is approved and fi- reputable companies that are nalized (see article on page 10). willing to act as handling agents. The support facility is a develop- “Obviously we don’t want people ment of Eurocontrol’s so-called Pa- buying 500 tons on the open goda model for calculating emis- market and then selling them sions, based on data from flight for much higher prices in small plans logged in the ATM agency’s packages,” Humphries said. “But Central Flow Management Unit. we are looking at ways in which The support facility also provides we can support our members. I verification of the data, thereby can’t give you anything specific eliminating the need to pay for yet, but that’s rolling forward.” expensive independent verification. Even if the industry finds a Earlier this year, EBAA was solution, however, small opera- going to advise its members to tors will still be at a disadvantage, withdraw their support for the Hartley said. “They aren’t traders ETS if the support facility was and stockbrokers. Big corpora- not approved. “If there had been tions have entire departments that no tool at all, we would have ad- Noncommercial operators are lobbying for an exemption if they emit fewer than 10,000 tons of CO2 per year, pointing out that have been doing this for years and vised members [not to support commercial operators have the same exemption. In addition, the commercial exception only might be increased to 25,000 tons.

www.ainonline.com • September 2010 • Aviation International Newsaa23 Business Aviation & the environment

From an environmental stand- that requires that all the trajecto- time [in Dallas].” Phoenix saw Next-gen ATC promises point, the experiment was a suc- ries for all the aircraft fit together a reduction in carbon emissions, cess: “The Port Authority is esti- like a jigsaw puzzle.” estimated at 2,500 tons annually. mating that operators are saving The system we use today is too Tailored arrivals, in which air- environmental rewards five million gallons of fuel per year reactive, Carmichael said. “It is craft use optimized descent paths, by Jennifer Harrington-Snell at JFK,” Romanowski said. “It has based on a large number of asyn- are also saving large quantities fundamentally changed how it chronous events that happen some- of fuel. During demonstrations The benefits of implementing is also moving forward with the operates the airport.” what independently. We work out in San Francisco, Los Angeles NextGen and its European coun- aeronautical information exchange In terms of the actual depar- the problems when we run into and Miami, the procedure saved terpart, the Single European Sky model (AIXM-5), the basis for ture, more airports will be using them. We’re trying to move away between 100 and 300 gallons of ATM Research (Sesar), are three- worldwide digital Notams. Rnav departures. “With the level from that, to a more synchronized fuel per flight, Romanowski said, fold: not only will the new proce- “Gate-to-gate” navigation ac- of precision they provide, Rnav de- operation where the pieces of the adding that the procedure will be dures and technologies improve tually begins long before an air- partures allow us to use runway ca- puzzle fit together just so.” operational next year. safety and efficiency, but they will plane leaves the departure gate or pacity much more effectively,” Ro- To accomplish this, the FAA also yield environmental benefits. begins to taxi. “The FAA is put- manowski said, adding that Rnav will make use of technologies The Key to NextGen The ultimate goal is to increase air- ting a lot of emphasis on being departures have been in place at such as automatic dependent sur- Implementing NextGen will space capacity while reducing fuel able to make decisions early,” said Dallas/Fort Worth for a number veillance-broadcast (ADS-B) and also require a change in the way burn, emissions and noise. Bruce Carmichael, director of the of years. “We’ve seen a 45-percent the traffic management advisor things are currently run, from To that end, the FAA is “moving aviation applications program at delay reduction using Rnav de- (TMA). Coverage will be nation- a human-centered operation to forward aggressively,” according the National Center for Atmo- partures. And they save in terms wide in 2013. one that is automated and al- to Michael Romanowski, director spheric Research (NCAR). “In of efficiency and fuel burn, in the Satellite-based procedures, most completely reliant on tech- of NextGen integration and im- fact, it would really like to begin amount of $30 million.” such as Rnav, can also be used nology. “That is an ambitious plementation. “The infrastructure many of the traffic management Following taxi and takeoff, for arrivals. The procedures are idea,” Carmichael said. “It’s is starting to emerge, and we’re and flight planning exercises as aircraft will be able to take ad- being used at Dallas/Fort Worth not going to be done without a seeing a lot of success with early much as 24 hours ahead of time.” vantage of NextGen concepts for and Phoenix Sky Harbor Inter- huge culture change, and that’s operational demonstrations and Using NextGen technologies climb-out and cruise. “The idea national Airport, Romanowski the biggest single impediment to deployments.” and procedures, such as collab- with climb and cruise is to be said. “With Rnav arrivals, we’re NextGen: it will require a cul- The operators involved in orative departure management able to do it in a way that’s the saving 700,000 gallons of fuel ture change in the cockpit, in transoceanic “gate-to-gate” dem- (CDM), NextGen airports will most fuel efficient for the air- per year and 6,700 tons of carbon. operations and in the air naviga- onstrations of NextGen capabili- be able to coordinate traffic on craft,” Carmichael said. “To do And this is just using it part- tion services provider.” o ties (oceanic trajectory-based op- the ground, thereby eliminating erations) are saving significant takeoff delays and ground holds. amounts of fuel, for example. ASDE-X is a satellite-based sur- tion for operators who want to monitoring plans and reporting for “We’re routinely seeing 3- to veillance tracking system that Europe’s ETS track their emissions accurately. clients, we want to empower the 5-percent fuel savings per flight,” gives operators and air traffic “We’ll still work with the EU operators to understand the pro- Romanowski said. “On the At- controllers an enhanced view of raises questions support system if we think that’s gram and be able to get through the lantic side, we’ve saved two tons ground traffic, presented as a color uContinued from preceding page the best option for our customers, initial phase of regulatory require- of CO2 per flight. And by saving display on a map of the airport. It but it provides only an estimate of ment,” Hartley said. “And even if fuel, you’re reducing your envi- is scheduled for deployment at 35 an additional £820 ($1,295) to your fuel usage. It’s as if they’re people use other companies, at ronmental impact and seeing a U.S. airports by year-end. submit an application for free al- estimating your salary and then least they’re informed about what reduction in carbon emissions.” lowances (the benchmark plan), taxing you on that estimate.” the program entails and what the The demonstrations involve Traffic Coordination according to Universal’s Hartley. A 10-percent error in reporting requirements are.” not only the FAA and various CDM, meanwhile, involves Yearly administration costs are es- could cost an operator more than Although the cost to comply operators, including American collaborative decision making timated at around £2,200 ($3,480), $3.5 million over the next eight with the ETS might seem ex- Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, by controllers, operators, airport and the hourly rate to fly would be years, Carlisle said. “The bigger cessive, it’s not much compared Qantas and Singapore Airlines, officials and the FAA, among approximately £28 ($37), based you are, the more fuel you use and to the cost of non-compliance. among others, but they also re- others, based on common knowl- on the cost of two carbon credits the larger your exposure to error is. In the UK, the fine for not sub- quire cooperation from various edge of the activity on the ground. at £14 each. (This is based on an So personally, I would always go mitting an annual MRV plan service providers and agencies. The concept proved successful average fuel burn of 2,000 pounds with actual data. I would want a would be a minimum of £5,000 This cooperation will continue during initial demonstration work per hour.) If the ETS support fa- bill based on real numbers. I would ($7,915), plus a daily fine of £500 into the future, as well. in Memphis. “Just by sharing in- cility is not approved, operators be uncomfortable paying money to ($790), and a maximum penalty In fact, the U.S. and the Eu- formation with the operators, and would also have to pay for an inde- the European government based of £50,000 ($79,135). ropean Commission on June 18 helping them understand what’s pendent, third-party verifier. on an estimate.” The UK has already started signed an agreement allowing happening on the ground, they can Some operators have decided Universal plans to launch sim- sending warning letters to opera- the FAA and Eurocontrol to save 1.5 to 4.5 minutes per flight to seek help from outside compa- ilar services within the next year or tors who have not submitted their work together to provide consis- per aircraft,” Romanowski said. nies, such as ETS Aviation. Carl- so and is currently in the business initial plans, according to Univer- tent air traffic service, such as “You start seeing dramatic savings isle’s company provides adminis- development phase. “We want to sal’s Laura Everington, manager avionics, communication pro- in fuel burn and emissions.” tration support, accurate emissions make sure that if we put a service of regulatory services. “The letters tocols and procedures, and op- This past summer, the Port tracking, report submissions and so out there in the marketplace, we are official and can get pretty ugly,” erational methods, to aircraft on Authority of New York and New on and charges fees based on the will be able to deliver it to anyone she said. “We’ve seen a couple of transatlantic flights. “The sys- Jersey established a CDM com- number of aircraft or flights. A small who asks for it,” Hartley said. “It’s them. They do mention a number tems will not be identical, but mand center to manage traffic corporate operator might pay $2,500 an in-depth process, not a one-size- and it’s not a small amount.” they need to be interoperable,” flow at JFK while the airport’s to $3,500 per year for the service, fits-all type of solution.” In essence, non-compliance is Romanowski said. main 14,572-foot runway was while a medium-sized company At present, the company not an option, Hartley said. “This is Eurocontrol, meanwhile, re- closed for repairs between March with 30 aircraft might pay $500 maintains a free Web site, www. a mandatory regulation; it’s on the cently announced that it has taken and June. per aircraft, or per 1,000 flights. eu-ets.aero, that links to various books,” he said. “Regardless of what “major steps forward” in sev- “In the past, it was not un- The per-aircraft fee is reduced as government Web sites and an- the future holds for this program, eral key areas of Sesar develop- common to see 40 to 80 aircraft the size of the operation increases. swers some of the most com- we have to live in the here and now. ment. Most important, the agency lining up for departure,” Ro- “There is a high degree of monly asked questions about the There is no optional compliance. has cleared the European satellite manowski said. “Using CDM, misunderstanding about how rel- ETS. The Web site is available to You’re looking at fines, fees and navigation system, the European [controllers] were able to keep atively easy it is to comply with everyone in the industry and has penalties, including exclusion from Geostationary Overlay Service a constant stream of eight to 10 the requirements in a cost-effec- received support from various EU airspace or confiscation of your (Egnos), for final safety certifica- aircraft at the end of the runway. tive way that won’t burden the business aviation organizations aircraft in lieu of paying fines. It’s a tion by the European national su- Even with the most significant operators,” Carlisle said, adding and government regulators. mandatory requirement, and the in- pervisory authorities. In collabo- runway closed, the airport did that ETS Aviation–or a similar “Until we can develop a full dustry needs to treat it as such.” o ration with the FAA, the agency not experience delays.” type of company–is a good op- service, where we can submit the Report continues on page 26 u

24aaAviation International News • September 2010 • www.ainonline.com Business Aviation & the environment

GE began experimenting with vannah, Ga.-based OEM. the open rotor, or unducted fan, Honeywell will also incorpo- design in the 1980s, when the price rate technology from its Saber of fuel was climbing. Like other 1 engine improvement program open-rotor programs, it was put on into HTF7000 production en- a back bench when the price of fuel gines, and those same improve- fell. But with growing emphasis ments will appear in the new on fuel efficiency and greenness, HTF7250G and HTF7500. Cer- these programs have seen a revival tification tests are under way for in recent years. the updated HTF7000. By applying advanced data According to Honeywell v-p acquisition systems and com- of propulsion systems Ron Rich, putational design tools, GE now the Saber 1 technology will believes it has improved the meet all ICAO standards, with design to reduce fuel consump- a 25-percent reduction in NOx tion by 26 percent (compared (nitrogen oxides) emissions. with current turbofans) and ad- The company has also dress the problem of noise in- launched Saber 2, which is ex- herent with the open rotor. The pected to reduce NOx emissions program also has GE engineers by another 25 percent. The new and designers evaluating the Tech 7000 technology demon- Honeywell is flight testing improvements to its HTF7000, in pursuit of a lighter-weight engine and reduced fuel burn. open rotor for the Leap-X engine. strator makes use of a fleet of GE and CFM are calling HTF7000s to develop Saber 2 open-rotor technology and flight Leap-X the “power of the fu- as well as make other improve- management and air traffic man- ture.” Test results are matching ments “in a relevant environ- Turbofan manufacturers agement systems. what GE said are “aggressive” ment.” Full component-level The Taps II lean-burn/low targets set by CFM. Endurance testing has already begun and continue ‘green’ efforts emissions combustor is at the testing on the full-scale Leap-X combustion systems are run- center of GE’s eCore hot section, RTM demonstrator, a Snecma ning. “We’ll move toward engine by Kirby J. Harrison and the company began testing it proprietary technology, began testing near the end of 2010 or in June 2009. It will be at the heart this summer and certification is early 2011,” said Rich. Turbofan manufacturers are de- liable and efficient engines that of partner CFM International’s expected in 2014. The improvements will in- veloping cleaner, quieter and more will reduce both GHG (green- Leap-X engine for single-aisle The fan and casing will be built clude the fan, compressor and tur- environmentally friendly engines house gas) emissions and noise. aircraft as well as the company’s of composite materials. The fan’s bines. Among the goals for Saber that will meet current and future The technology advances include next generation of regional and larger, 3-D woven transfer molding 2 are better power-to-weight ratio, regulatory requirements. That fact every thing from improved fan, business jet engines. blades will allow much greater ef- a smaller core to reduce engine should come as no surprise, since core and exhaust-nozzle designs CFM started running phase ficiency than the CFM56, and weight, and a higher pressure ratio they have been doing this all along to composite materials. one of the eCore demonstrator the engine will weigh some 500 for improved fuel burn. as the natural byproduct of efforts This summer, GE Aviation on schedule last year, and phase pounds less than a comparable to build more fuel-efficient and was one of many engine manu- two was completed this year. powerplant with metal fans and MTU Plans Green Lead quieter turbofans for a market that facturers that received an award Testing of the eCore demon- casing. It will run on 15 percent with Geared Turbofan demands nothing less. And they strator two with the 10- less fuel and emit 16 percent less German engine manufacturer were doing so long before govern- stage compressor and CO2 compared with today’s most MTU Aero Engines has been ment agencies and environmental two-stage turbine fuel-efficient CFM56. making much of a geared tur- watchdog groups began is scheduled to Meanwhile, testing continues bofan, with its Claire (clean air taking such an interest in begin next year. on the GE Honda HF120 turbofan engine) technology leading the aircraft propulsion. “This is a core that that powers the new HondaJet. way. The aim is to cut CO2 emis- “We’ve been re- ‘wants’ to run,” Features include advanced air- sions by 20 percent by 2035, and ducing emissions and said a CFM spokes- foils, materials and coatings; a high- at the Paris Air Show last year increasing turbine ef- woman. She added temperature, reverse-flow com MTU was exhibiting a geared ficiency for twenty- that the result will be bus tor configuration; single-stage turbofan mockup. five years,” said Walter an engine that produces air-blast fuel nozzles; titanium The first steps are being taken Di Bartolomeo, v-p of a ground noise footprint 75 impellor in the compressor; two- under the umbrella of the Euro- engineering for Pratt & percent smaller than a compa- stage, low-pressure turbine; and pean Commission’s Clean Sky Whitney Canada. rable current-production engine, counter-rotating high-pressure and joint technology initiative. MTU These days, there is the ad- keeping noise within the con- low-pressure shaft system. Continues on page 28 u ditional motivation provided by a fines of the airport. Cost of ownership is key, flurry of regulations coming from GE expects the new core according to Honda, which is The GE/CFM Leap-X’s fan blades–and government agencies in the U.S. The Williams FJ44-4, which powers the will provide up to 16 per- aiming for 5,000 hours between fan case–will be made of composites, recently certified Citation CJ4, with its reducing weight by 1,000 pounds. and abroad, from the EU Emis- low NOx and hydrocarbon emissions, cent better fuel efficiency than major overhauls. sions Trading Scheme to the so- is representative of the efficiency of the best it has in service today. called cap-and-trade proposal in current-generation engines. General Electric’s new GEnx Honeywell Investing Heavily the U.S. Not to mention aircraft engine program will produce a Honeywell’s HTF7000 fleet noise level restrictions set by the from the FAA as part of the agen- turbofan for widebody aircraft recently surpassed 700,000 total FAA, ICAO and thousands of cy’s continuous lower energy, and features the latest in carbon- hours, and the company con- local municipalities. And there emissions and noise (Cleen) pro- fiber composite materials in both tinues to make improvements in are public groups such as the Gov- gram. Cleen is designed to accel- the fan blades and fan case. Their the line. The HTF7500 that will ernment Accountability Project, erate the development and mat- use in the fan case alone will re- power Embraer’s new Legacy which has criticized the FAA for uration of aircraft and engine duce the engine weight by 300 450 and Legacy 500 has com- “inattention to greenhouse emis- technologies that reduce noise pounds. With such improvements pleted design review and core sions,” warning of the “harmful and emissions and improve fuel as a 23:1 pressure ratio, pre-mix testing. Engine tests began this effects on the future of U.S. avia- burn. The award will allow GE nested fuel nozzles, four fewer summer and certification is ex- tion if action is not taken.” and the FAA to share in the in- stages and 30 percent fewer parts, pected next year. As a result, manufacturers vestment of up to $66 million the engine is expected to produce And as Gulfstream ramps up are spending billions of dol- over a five-year period. emissions 95 percent below cur- for production of its G250, Hon- lars on research and develop- GE sees the money going rent requirements and 15 percent eywell is increasing deliveries ment projects to create more re- toward its Taps II combustor, better fuel consumption. of its new HTF7250G to the Sa-

26aaAviation International News • September 2010 • www.ainonline.com In addition to embracing new engine technologies and Business Aviation & the environment replacing metal parts with composites, manufacturers are testing their engines with alternative fuels. erything.” According to Bob Engine makers’ Sala, v-p of the next genera- green efforts tion product family, “This advanced core contains many key uContinued from page 26 technologies contributing to the is investing some $27 million in lower engine operating cost of the project and industry partners the PW1000G.” Current tests are such as Avio and Volvo Aero are confirming expectations. adding another $40 million. The PurePower PW1000G The Claire project will use an features gearing that allows the existing geared turbofan, focusing fan to operate at lower speeds on the high-pressure compressor than the low-pressure com- and high-speed low-pressure tur- pressor and turbine. The combine. Designers expect to reduce bination of the gear system and the length and weight of the tur- advanced core, reported P&W, bine, while improving efficiency “delivers double-digit improve- duced “excellent results” during be 15 percent better than other are rapidly developing new by way of the new low-pressure ments in fuel efficiency and 40 hours of run trials at Stutt- engines in that class. technology in search of leaner, emissions with a 50-percent re- gart University’s altitude test cleaner and quieter turbofans, duction in noise over today’s facility, exceeding the flight- Williams International hardware is not the only focus in engines.” Entry into service is envelope requirements, according Plays It Close the quest to provide power that is scheduled for 2013. to the company. Williams International, which more efficient for customers and P&W is in the midst of a Rolls-Royce said E3E is de- traditionally plays its research more environmentally friendly five-year program during which veloping “leading-edge tech- and development cards close for government agencies and it expects to spend approxi- nologies” that increase engine to the vest, says it has been im- public watchdog groups. mately $1.5 billion in research temperature, pressure ratio and proving engine efficiency by Alternative fuels are also under and development. component efficiencies, com- about one percent per year on the examination (see story on page The engine manufacturer claims bined with a 25-percent increase FJ44 since the FJ44-1A went into 30), as are changes to the processes Open rotors–such as this CFM pusher– to be the leader in developing in thrust-to-weight ratio. production in 1998. that control air traffic aloft and on promise significant fuel savings, but low-emission technology, pri- Other goals include a 15-per- “Our engines have a good the ground (see story on page 24). there are major challenges before they marily through its Talon (tech- cent reduction in fuel burn as combination of low NOx and low Since none of these is the elu- can enter commercial service. nology affordable low Nox) well as CO2 emissions, along CO2,” said v-p of business devel- sive silver bullet, the solution will combustion design. According with a 60-percent reduction in turbine, first-stage concept. The to Pratt & Whitney Canada, it NOx emissions. initial target is a 15-percent reduc- makes the PW307 “the greenest Specific technologies used on tion in fuel burn. engine in its market,” with an the E3E core include a two-stage The second step is to combine emissions reduction of 33 percent shroudless high-pressure tur- a two-stage counter-rotating fan relative to ICAO standards. bine; tip clearance control system with the geared concept, targeting The Talon 2 combustor tech- with advanced ceramic abrad- a fuel burn reduction of 20 percent nology also meets Zurich 5 re- able linings; lean-burn combustion; by 2025. The third is implemen- quirements for avoiding emis- blisked high-pressure compressor tation of an intercooled recupera- sions surcharges. It also surpasses air system for bearing-load man- tive aero-engine concept in which ICAO environmental standards by agement; and improved cooling exhaust nozzle heat is used to in- more than 35 percent for CO2 and using carbon oil seal and brush- crease the temperature of the air by more than 50 percent for NOx seal air sealing technologies. entering the compressor. emissions, unburned hydrocarbons The nine-stage blisked high- MTU is also a partner in Pratt and smoke. pressure compressor has thus far & Whitney’s PW1000G program. demonstrated a 22:1 pressure ratio. The engine from that program is Rolls-Royce E3E Core More cores are to be tested expected to power the Mitsubishi at the Center over the next two years and the regional jet and Bombardier’s C Rolls-Royce announced in July program calls for 1,200 cycles The GEnx engine, above, is expected Series regional jet. that it has successfully run the of max-takeoff-power endur- to reduce the fuel latest E3E (efficiency, environ- ance testing. consumption of Pratt & Whitney ment, economy) core engine as widebody aircraft by ‘Changes Everything’ part of its two-shaft research. The Snecma Continues 15 percent and Silvercrest Development produce emissions At the Farnborough airshow program is intended to develop fu- 95 percent below in July, Pratt & Whitney was ture powerplants for business jets Despite still lacking a launch current standards. The promoting its PurePower engine and single-aisle airliners. customer, Snecma of France con- GE Honda HF120, right, is currently in tests for core, saying, “This changes ev- The latest core-build pro- tinues to develop its Silvercrest the HondaJet. business jet engine. The plan is to build the powerplant in versions developing between 6,500 and 12,000 pounds of opment Matt Huff. “And thrust to power large-cabin busi- all our engines fall into the zero ness jets and single-aisle bizliners emissions surcharges category likely be a combination of all of such as the A319. In addition to for the Zurich model.” them–new engine technology; better performance in climb and The FJ44-4 was certified in alternative fuels to produce en- cruise, the Silvercrest is expected February for Cessna’s new CJ4, ergy values similar to those of to be “environmentally friendly, and the FJ44-3AP is in the cer- fossil-based jet fuel; shorter with low levels of both noise and tification process, earmarked ground-hold times; idle ap- [GHG] emissions.” for Hawker Beechcraft’s Pre- proaches from 10,000 feet; and Snecma believes the direct- mier II, the Nextant re-engined more aerodynamically efficient flow engine, 74 inches long, will Diamond/Beechjet 400 and the aircraft designs. yield lower emissions. In fact, the PiperJet single. The real answer, says Honey- company expects emissions will Also going through certifica- well chief technology officer Bob be 50 percent lower than ICAO tion is the FJ33-5, intended for the Smith, “is a collective effort by the GE Aviation is testing open-rotor blade concepts with an eye to achieving a design capable of meeting ICAO Chapter 4 requirements. CAEP6 standards. In addition, Cirrus Vision and Diamond D-Jet. entire aviation industry.” o fuel consumption is expected to While engine manufacturers Report continues on page 30 u

28aaAviation International News • September 2010 • www.ainonline.com Business Aviation & the environment

Alternative fuels still face hurdles by Curt Epstein

The alternative aviation fuel industry ilar amount to stimulate feedstock produc- continues to conduct flight tests to validate tion, while another viewed that number as the use of new jet-fuel blends. At the end of excessive. According to Lane, the current April, United Airlines became the first U.S. predicted capital cost for an alternative fuels commercial carrier to fly using a certified refinery ranges from $2 to $12 per gallon of synthetic-fuel blend that received ASTM output. With plans calling for most refineries approval last year. The 40/60 mix powered to be capable of producing 100 million gal- The U.S. Navy in April operated an F/A-18–dubbed “The Green Hornet”–on a biofuel blend. one of the engines on an Airbus A319 in an lons per year, the potential financing needed engineering validation flight that departed could be significant. fuels going will still take time. Refinery they find their way into the tanks of busi- Denver International Airport and reached “Aviation biofuels is a 60-billion-gallon- technology specialist UOP developed the ness aircraft. As production increases, the an altitude of 39,000 feet. The drop-in fuel, per-year behemoth, so you could do the green jet fuel process–which uses natural price for alternative fuels will presumably supplied by Los Angeles-based producer math,” said Lane. “You could get to $360 oils from non-food crops such as jatropha, descend to the range of standard jet fuel, but Rentech, was derived from natural gas and billion and I wouldn’t blink an eye.” camelina and algae to produce bio-derived until then, much of the supply will be used converted to liquid through the Fischer- Given those numbers, the availability of synthetic paraffinic kerosene (bio-SPK)– by the military and by commercial carriers. Tropsch process. financing still represents a major hurdle and expects to announce the first licensees At the end of last year, potential large- “This flight confirms our assumptions for the industry. “To get project finance for its technology later this year. scale alternative fuel providers Rentech about how this fuel performs on a com- in this area you need to have a feedstock “From when [biofuel producers] say and AltAir Fuels announced they had mercial aircraft in a variety of situations contract with a long-term fixed price from they are going to license the technology it signed non-binding agreements with nu- and represents the next step in our effort to a credit-worthy supplier; you need to have will take 24 to 30 months to get the unit merous airlines to provide hundreds of stimulate competition in the aviation fuel an off-take contract [an agreement with a up and running,” said Jennifer Holmgren, millions of gallons of renewable jet fuels supply chain, promote energy security customer to purchase the producer’s entire UOP’s former v-p and general manager of starting in 2012. In March the Air Trans through economically viable alternatives output] with a long-term fixed price with renewable energy and chemicals. “My ex- port Association (ATA) and the U.S. De- that also demonstrate environmental bene- a credit-worthy customer; and you have to pectation is that by the end of 2012, there partment of Defense announced a strategic fits and contribute to the creation of green have a proven, stable, safe, reliable tech- will be biojet [fuel] production in place. I alliance. The joining of the world’s two jobs,” said Joseph Kolshak, United Air- nology. The biofuels industry doesn’t have would say in the range of a couple of hun- largest consumers of jet fuel–on the order lines senior vice president of operations. any of that,” explained Lane. dred million gallons and then working to of 1.5 million barrels a day–was aimed at That test flight followed one by the At the end of last year, the government– a billion gallons in the 2015-2016 range.” spurring the growth of the alternative fuels U.S. Navy, which for the first time oper- through the Departments of Energy and Once production starts it might still market, as well as leveraging efforts and ated one of its fighters on a biofuel blend. Agriculture–handed out approximately take some time before alternative avia- research between the two groups. On Earth Day (April 22) an F/A-18 dubbed $600 million in biorefinery funding, the tion fuels make an impact on the market. Based on its tremendous thirst for the Green Hornet took to the skies over the bulk of it earmarked for pilot and demon- “Building 10 billion gallons of [alternative jet fuel, the alliance is expected to have Navy’s flight-test center in Patuxent River, stration-scale projects to help accelerate aviation fuel] capacity can take a while,” a large impact. “If it weren’t for the air- Md., powered by a 50/50 mix of camelina- the commercialization process. said Lane. “The entire biofuels industry by lines and the military saying that they are derived biofuel supplied by Honeywell While the ASTM last fall approved the comparison has around 30 billion gallons willing to buy fuel in advance of it actually subsidiary UOP, which has developed the use of the Fischer-Tropsch process for syn- of capacity worldwide and that’s taken being produced, then I don’t think there is technology for the fuel under a contract thetic jet fuel blends, and is expected to do most of 25 years to build.” any hope for these things to move forward from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research the same for advanced biofuel blends this Even when the alternative fuels arrive right now,” said Holmgren. o Projects Agency (Darpa) to help satisfy year, getting full-scale production of these in quantity it might take some time before Report continues on page 32 u the service’s stated goal of meeting half its energy needs with alternative fuels by EUROCOPTER JOINS BIOFUEL QUEST 2020. UOP also supplied the fuel for the June test flight of a Royal Netherlands Air Eurocopter and parent company EADS ered by two Austro Engine AE300 diesel While an algae-based biofuel is greener Force Boeing AH-64D Apache, the first have teamed with Argentina-based Bio- engines, fed with algae fuel. “The only mod- than conventional petroleum-based fuel use of sustainable aviation biofuels by a he- Combustibles del Chubut (BC) to study the ification we had to do was to turn down the because algae absorb CO2, it is not carbon licopter. In this case a blend derived from feasibility of building an aviation biofuel fac- injection nozzle a little, because biofuel is neutral. In Germany, the Bavarian aerospace algae and used cooking oil powered one of tory in Brazil. The three companies signed more efficient than conventional jet-A1 and research and technology program is funding the Apache’s engines, which required no an agreement in June. The biofuel, made otherwise the combustion chamber would work–the “Bay68” project–to determine the modification for the demonstration. from algae, could be used in Eurocopter’s overheat,” an EADS spokesman told AIN. CO2 emissions at every step of the process diesel engines for light helicopters, which EADS and Eurocopter are not divulging a chain. “In particular, one needs to look at the Financing Options are now in the research stage (see AIN, harvesting and drying of the algae biomass, While such flights provide a boost February, page 44). the oil extraction process [several methods], to the quest for alternative energy, this While Boeing has touted jatropha–a veg- the refining of the oil into fuel [which needs would-be industry faces deeper issues as it etable that grows in arid soils–as a potential hydrogen] and all logistics and transporta- attempts to achieve relevancy in terms of source for biofuels, EADS is betting on algae. tion needs,” the spokesman said. the global jet-fuel supply. Companies such It can grow in salted, not-so-clean water and Algae-based fuel also reduces other as UOP and Rentech have proved that al- needs only one-twentieth of the surface jatro- emissions compared with traditional jet- ternative aviation fuels can be produced, pha would need to produce the same amount A. According to EADS, tests indicate that and test flights have demonstrated their of fuel. Moreover, algae culture is CO2 inten- exhaust gas contains eight times fewer un- use, but exactly how to finance the con- sive . According to EADS chief technology burned hydrocarbons. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) struction of refineries and the growing of officer Jean Botti, one pound of algae ab- PATRICK PENNA, EUROCOPTER and sulfur oxide emissions will also be re- feedstock in quantities sufficient to meet sorbs 1.7 pounds of CO . In fact, it absorbs Algae grown for biofuel production absorbs so much duced, by as much as 40 percent and 98 per- 2 carbon dioxide that a mass production facility would the thirst of the aviation industry was one so much CO that a production facility would cent, respectively, as a result of the biofuel’s 2 need to be located near a plant that emits a lot of CO2. of the key topics at the recent Advanced need to be located next to a plant that emits low nitrogen and sulfur content. Biofuels Leadership Conference. a lot of CO2 and located near an airport. The timetable for developing algae-based biofu- Eurocopter and its partners in Europe’s “Who is going to pay for all this re- CO2 would be captured and fed to the algae. el and are focusing on technology for mass Clean Sky research project are about to ally is a question,” said conference orga- EADS’s and Eurocopter’s goal is to de- production, which they hope will reduce the launch a call for proposal on diesel engines nizer Jim Lane. Opinion varies widely on vise a “drop-in” biofuel solution that aircraft cost. “The biggest challenge is to set up a for helicopters. The first call for proposal, is- the question of exactly how much capital is could burn with no modifications. EADS has decentralized network of algae producers sued last year, failed. This time, the project needed to jump-start the industry. One bio- been flight-testing a demonstrator–a Dia- and refineries that can operate without sub- will require a greater reduction in weight, and fuel executive estimated the need for a $20 mond Aircraft DA42 New Generation pow- sidies,” the spokesman explained. the budget accordingly will be larger. –T.D. billion investment in refineries, plus a sim-

30aaAviation International News • September 2010 • www.ainonline.com Business Aviation & the environment

tured general aviation piston engines Environment News Clips EPA begins ruling process run on unleaded aviation gasoline by some future date. For in-service air- FAA Awards $125M in Green Contracts to phase out leaded avgas craft, the EPA acknowledges greater Five aerospace companies have been awarded a technical and logistical hurdles. “In total of $125 million in contracts as part of an environ- by Curt Epstein many cases, the implementation of this mental initiative to spur development of new aircraft concept might depend upon efforts and technologies. Each company–Boeing, General Electric, With the deadline for the comment lower levels of lead than previously be- actions of aircraft and engine manu- Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce North period on the Environmental Protection lieved. The standard did not identify a facturers in identifying the necessary Agency’s advanced notice of proposed safe level of lead exposure. Under the modifications and developing hard- America–will receive $25 million and is required to rulemaking (ANPRM) to phase out Clean Air Act, if the EPA administrator ware as necessary,” the agency noted. match the contract in terms of resources. It is part of leaded avgas having just passed, many in determines lead emissions from the use According to the General Aviation the FAA’s Cleen (continuous lower energy, emissions the industry remain galvanized for pos- of leaded avgas “cause or contribute to Manufacturers Association, in 2008 the and noise) program. According to FAA Administra- sible effects of the proposed mandate. air pollution which may reasonably be ranks of U.S. piston-powered aircraft in- tor Randy Babbitt, the goal is to support the use of The EPA published the ANPRM at anticipated to endanger public health or cluded 144,220 singles and 18,385 twins. new technologies on commercial aircraft as early as the end of April, stating its intention welfare,” then the agency would be man- “Given the potentially large number of af- 2015 and get them into service as soon as possible. to determine whether emissions from dated to establish emissions standards fected aircraft and the potential complex- The projects under development range from alternative aircraft using leaded aviation gaso- for piston-engine aircraft in conjunction ities involved, a program affecting in- aviation fuels, engine noise reduction, open rotor to line (avgas) cause or contribute to air with the FAA. Establishment of such use aircraft engines would need careful geared turbine technology, and advances in air traffic pollution, which can endanger public standards would include evaluating the consideration by both the EPA and FAA, and ground control. health. While the Industry Avgas Co- technical feasibility of reducing or elimi- and the two agencies would need to work alition, a group consisting of aviation nating leaded aviation gasoline. together in considering any potential Honeywell Launches New associations such as NBAA, AOPA and For future aircraft, this could mean program affecting the in-use fleet,” the Emissions and Monitoring NATA, along with petroleum industry a requirement that all newly manufac- Continues on page 35 u Honeywell is offering a new emissions monitor- representatives asked the agency to ex- ing service for business jets operating in European tend the deadline to the end of October, airspace to assist in compliance with European Union the EPA settled on August 27. The 107-page ANPRM was issued emissions trading scheme (EU-ETS) requirements. in further response to a 2006 petition Phoenix-based Honeywell will compile and store car- submitted by the environmental ac- bon emissions data based on flight plans, number of tivist group Friends of the Earth titled passengers and freight information for business jet “Petition for Rulemaking Seeking the operators. The service is part of Honeywell’s flight Regulation of Lead Emissions from support service through its global data center at www. General Aviation Aircraft Under § 231 mygdc.com. “The new emissions monitoring service of the Clean Air Act.” Section 231 of will help operators comply with regulations, save time the Clean Air Act establishes the EPA’s and help take some of the mystery out of this new re- authority to regulate aircraft emissions porting requirement in the EU,” said Honeywell v-p of of air pollution. marketing and product management Carl Esposito The most recent revision of the Na- tional Ambient Air Quality Standard, While the EPA issued an ANPRM for the gradual phase-out Boeing Headquarters Earns formulated in 2008, found that serious of 100LL, there is no drop-in replacement for it yet. EPA Energy Star health effects could result from much Boeing’s Chicago downtown headquarters has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s COMMITTEE STUDIES ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTION, DISMANTLING Energy Star, indicating that the building performs in the top 25 percent of comparable facilities nationwide Operating an aircraft accounts for 80 To save energy, Dassault and its ing welding or laser sintering rather than in terms of energy efficiency. Improvements to the percent of the machine’s lifetime envi- research partners are also looking machining. When metal chips have to be building’s automation and lighting systems helped ronmental footprint, according to a newly for ways to cure composite materials produced, they can be compacted to re- released Dassault study. Manufacturing without an autoclave and are consid- duce the number of trucks required to reduce energy consumption and costs. The EPA intro- and dismantling account for the remain- ering using more thermoplastics in collect them. Dassault is already using duced the Energy Star program in 1992 as a voluntary, ing 20 percent, and Europe’s Clean Sky place of thermosets. this technique at its Seclin factory. market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas research initiative includes an E80 million There has been a lot of talk about the In the cabin, so-called bio-composites emissions through energy efficiency. ($104 million) project called EcoDesign- benefits of composites over a life cycle, in could make furniture closer to nature. Airframe, co-led by Dassault, Bio-fibers are already in use in the Rockwell Collins Plays Key Role in aimed at greening aircraft automotive industry. They come from Green Connection Evaluations cradles and graves. hemp, flax or nettle. Rockwell Collins, as a member of a consortium of In parallel with the re- Dassault research to improve dis- industry partners led by Swedish air navigation service search effort, Dassault has mantling at the end of the aircraft’s life provider Luftfartsverket (LFV), has been awarded an begun making its production is more embryonic since few Falcons active roll in the Atlantic interoperability initiative to process less polluting. It is have been withdrawn from service. reduce emissions (Aire) project, also known as Green using less hexavalent chro- Nevertheless, EcoDesign-Airframe’s Connections. The consortium includes partners LFV, mium, which is carcinogenic, mission centers on sorting materials. Aircraft manufacturers, such as Dassault and Airbus, are studying Swedavia, SAS Scandinavian Airlines System, GE Avia- mutagenic and reprotoxic. In the entire life cycle of an aircraft with an eye to reducing its envi- In the works is a portable device to tion and Rockwell Collins. It represents a continuation addition, Dassault is also elimi- ronmental footprint, from production through dismantling. identify the various aluminum alloys. of work done among the partners to develop initial nating cadmium and lead from Dassault also has contracted Tarmac concepts to be applied to the project. Rockwell Collins its production processes. Chemical ma- that they are lighter, but metal suppliers Aerosave, a company based in Tarbes, chining is being replaced with mechani- point out that aluminum is more widely France, to dismantle the first Falcon 900 will provide connectivity services to allow exchange of cal machining. recyclable than composites are. airframe with an eye toward greening flight management system-generated trajectory and “[The environmental impact of] car- Although the company plans to use such operations. Work started in June time information between the participating aircraft rying parts and subassemblies by road composites in more primary structures, and the results were expected at the end movements and the ground-based metering functions. from one production site to another is aluminum will continue to play a role. New of the summer. In addition, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based aerospace not negligible,” noted Jerome Lery, proj- aluminum-lithium alloys are about 5 per- EcoDesign-Airframe aims to have company will be responsible for analyzing the effects ect leader for EcoDesign-Airframe, so the cent lighter than conventional ones. technologies ready for demonstration of winds aloft, air traffic constraints, revisions in the EcoDesign-Airframe project aims to mini- To improve the metal buy-to-fly ratio by 2015, for the possible launch of a trajectory, cost index and other factors on movement mize road transport of components that (that is, to reduce scrap), Dassault favors program in 2018-2020 and deliveries in trajectory and time. –K.J.H. are at intermediate manufacturing stages. adding material over removing it, or us- 2025, Lery said. –T.D.

32aaAviation International News • September 2010 • www.ainonline.com Business Aviation & the environment

figurations, with and without taking bleed OEMs embrace air from the engines. “Some of our actuators are electric al- more-electric ready in secondary flight controls,” Ros- tand pointed out. Spoilers, for example, are already electric and primary flight-control aircraft systems surfaces (such as ailerons) will follow. by Thierry Dubois Gulfstream is already using electric backup hydraulic actuators (EBHAs) as Business jet manufacturers are quietly the third source of power for the G650’s con- progressing toward more-electric architec- trol system. An EBHA features a self-con- tures, where electricity replaces hydraulic tained reservoir and an electric pump backup and pneumatic power in systems such as mode that allows it to operate even after a brakes, landing gear or even control-surface loss of aircraft-supplied hydraulic fluid. actuation. This avoids the use of environ- The EBHAs have yielded a weight ben- mentally unfriendly hydraulic fluids and ul- efit for Gulfstream. Moreover, the parts timately should help reduce fuel burn. count is reduced, since an EBHA combines The use of hydraulics has several disad- hydraulic with electric power to move a vantages. First, hydraulic fluids sometimes single actuating piston. Dissimilar actua- leak, a negative for an industry looking tion (between the main and backup sys- to improve its perceived environmental tems) also has safety benefits, and the G650 impact. In addition, hydraulic fluids complicate maintenance and are difficult to recycle. At the same time electric technology has improved rapidly in recent years. For example, motors have become smaller and can be integrated more easily. As a result, this technology holds the promise of becoming competitive with traditional hydraulics in terms of power-to-weight ratio. An electric system is not necessarily going to be lighter than its hydraulic equivalent. However, once all the systems are integrated, it is likely that weight savings can be achieved at the aircraft level. This, in turn, will trans- late into lower fuel burn. For the Gulfstream G650, Parker Aerospace As a result of the interest in more- provides actuators that reduce the overall need for environmentally unfriendly hydraulic fluids. An electric architectures Dassault is coordi- electric backup hydraulic actuator (EBHA) features nating, with the Fraunhofer Institute, a a self-contained reservoir and an electric pump U37 million ($48 million) European re- backup mode that allows it to operate even after a search project called EcoDesign-Systems loss of aircraft-supplied hydraulic fluid. as part of the Clean Sky program. will use less hydraulic fluid than it would More-electric Systems with hydraulics alone. Which systems look easiest to electrify? Incorporating the EBHAs is pos- “We are a system architect and we look at sible because motor pumps are smaller the big picture, not at how easy or diffi- and batteries can now handle regenera- cult a system is to electrify,” Philippe Ros- tive voltage from electric motors, a Gulf- tand, Dassault’s head of future Falcon pro- stream spokesman said. grams, told AIN. He is hoping for greater Gulfstream has encountered several energy efficiency at the aircraft level. challenges with this project. The first has Electric systems are more flexible. This been attaching electric motors to wing is especially true if there is a single source spars. Another challenge has been per- of power rather than a combination of elec- formance at high rates and loads. Finally, tricity, hydraulics and so on. For example, system reliability has to be thoroughly with an electric system, pressurization can proven due to the use of more electronics. be interrupted to extend the landing gear. Other manufacturers have also demon- Such “smart shedding” means that genera- strated an interest in more-electric tech- tors do not have to be oversized, producing nologies. Bombardier tested electric brakes a more efficient architecture. on the Global 5000 in 2008. The trials have The power available today on electro- not yielded a business jet application yet, mechanical actuators is suitable for busi- but Bombardier will fit an electric braking ness aircraft, although it is not sufficient system to its C Series jetliner. to move the control surfaces of a large air- Hawker Beechcraft uses electric ac- liner. Nevertheless, business aircraft may tuators on the Hawker 4000 for pitch not become “all electric” in one shot. “We trim and speed brake control surfaces. are doing a lot of iterations,” Rostand said. The rudder power control unit is a dual Dassault engineers are studying all-electric electro-hydraulic unit, which is lighter configurations. They are also evaluating the than a fully hydraulic unit, according to merits of combined electric-hydraulic con- the airframer. o

34aaAviation International News • September 2010 • www.ainonline.com a potential solution,” said Hackman. “With ment of a plan for identifying, evaluating “six times more pilots and 16 times more ANPRM proposes that data we can examine the production, and ultimately transitioning to an unleaded airplanes than the rest of the country,” Be- distribution, performance, emissions and fuel.” According to the avgas coalition, in- gich said the premature regulation of leaded 100LL phase-out economic impacts associated with any given dustry organizations have devoted more avgas would have a substantially negative uContinued from page 32 proposed alternative.” than 20 years of research and develop- impact in his state. “At this point the poten- The EPA classifies lead as a persistent ment to identifying a viable alternative to tial costs to Alaska associated with regu- ANPRM stated. According to the document, pollutant; particles of the heavy metal that the 100 “low lead” avgas formulation cur- lating avgas far outweigh the benefits and the FAA would also be required to prescribe are dispersed through the air as emissions rently used by most piston-powered air- threaten to leave Alaska’s rural communities standards for the composition or chemical or will eventually settle and contaminate craft. These organizations “look forward without a reliable means of transportation.” physical properties of piston-engine fuel or soil or water. Piston-engine aircraft oper- to continuing their work with the EPA and In response to the growing criticism, at fuel additives to control or eliminate aircraft ating on leaded avgas represent the largest FAA on establishing a realistic standard EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh in July, the lead emissions. source of aerial dispersal, contributing to reduce lead emissions from GA aircraft EPA told the coalition that it will work with about half of the National Emission Inven- along a transition timeline that balances the GA industry and the FAA, as it seeks a A ‘Persistent Pollutant’ tory in 2005, according to the agency. Of environmental benefit with aviation safety, safe and viable alternative to leaded avgas. “In the 20 years of working on this and the approximately 27 million hours flown technical feasibility and economic im- In a letter, the EPA said it “has not estab- testing of many hundreds of different vari- by general aviation aircraft in the U.S. pact,” according to the coalition. lished or proposed any date by which lead ations of fuels, it has been determined that annually, piston-engine aircraft account In June, the coalition detailed its fu- emissions from aircraft operating on leaded nothing does what tetraethyl lead does as for approximately 66 percent. Across the ture avgas strategy and transition (Fast) avgas would need to be reduced. In fact, the well, as efficiently or as economically,” said country, leaded avgas can be found at plan, which it believes will help ensure EPA does not have authority to control avia- Rob Hackman, AOPA’s vice president of nearly 20,000 airport facilities, and the the availability of 100LL until a replace- tion fuels,” the letter stated, in a nod to the regulatory affairs. “At this time there is no EPA estimates that up to 16 million people ment is created. The plan identifies several FAA’s jurisdiction. ‘silver bullet’ replacement for 100LL. There reside near facilities servicing piston-en- goals: establishing a process to develop a As the matter has only just begun its are some potential solutions out there that gine aircraft that are operating on leaded viable unleaded alternative to 100LL; cre- legislative journey, it may be some time are being further researched, but to date we avgas. Recent monitoring studies indicate ating incentives for the development of before operators can expect any regula- haven’t come up with something that we can that lead levels in ambient air at and near high-octane unleaded avgas; establishing tory action, according to Hackman. “I just drop in seamlessly.” Of those solutions, airports serving piston-engine aircraft are a transition timeline that addresses avia- tell folks that this is a marathon, not a two that show promise and have been flight higher than lead levels in areas not directly tion safety, technical feasibility and im- sprint. It’s a little early to speculate, but demonstrated are offerings from General influenced by a lead source. pact upon the GA and avgas industry; and I think we are looking at a number of Aviation Modifications (GAMI) and Swift When the EPA issued the ANPRM, it re- minimizing potential impacts of EPA ac- years for this all to play out.” o Enterprises. GAMI has tested its 100UL fuel quested public input on its available data, tions upon GA. in a Cirrus SR22, while Swift demonstrated which the industry avgas coalition mem- Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), co-chair its 100SF at Sun ’n’ Fun by powering a Piper bers described as “a key opportunity for of the Senate GA caucus, also voiced his Seminole. “The general aviation avgas co- the general aviation community to provide concerns about the proposed phase-out of alition looks forward to seeing data from comment regarding this possible new envi- 100LL before “a suitable, affordable replace- GAMI, Swift and any others who may have ronmental standard and into the development is found.” Noting his constituents had

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