Virgin doing it better in the air? | 35 comments (35 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Virgin doing it better in the air? (none / 0)

We should ask ElcoB about proposed passenger aircraft designs geared towards fuel efficiency at the expense of, say, time of travel.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Sep 27th, 2006 at 07:55:23 AM EST
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Re: Virgin doing it better in the air? (none / 0)

Good idea.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Sep 27th, 2006 at 07:59:04 AM EST
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Future aircraft (none / 1)

Specific objectives for European aeronautics include 50% and 80% cuts in CO2 and NOx emissions; respectively, a five-fold reduction in accidents; reduction of noise by 50%; and increased punctuality across the board, meaning 99% of all flights should arrive and depart within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. The updated SRA also puts forward an array of research solutions and technologies to meet and go beyond the ambitions expressed of the `Vision 2020' report.

On the European level we have The Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), developed by the Advisory Council for Aeronautical Research in Europe (ACARE).
With a budget of several hundred millions Euro's lots of projects and initiatives are initiated in which the industry and university's are involved: see PEGASUS and EASN.

On 6 April the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new EU programme for Research (FP7). In this frame we have the Joint Technology Initiative (JTI):

A JTI is a new instrument created by the European Commission for the 7th Framework Programme for Research (FP7) to allow large scale and long term public private research partnerships to implement the ambitious research priorities of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) which are of such scale that they will require the mobilisation and management of very substantial public and private investment.

The AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe, ASD:

The "Clean Sky" JTI is an industry driven 7-year research programme plan for greener generation of European Air Transport that will radically improve impact on the environment......

One of the former projects was a a hydrogen plane : The CRYOPLANE and also the Russians experimented.

So, a lot is happening, but a radical change in the near future cannot be expected.

The struggle of man against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting.(Kundera)

by Elco B (elcob at scarlet dot be) on Wed Sep 27th, 2006 at 11:13:49 AM EST
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Efficient plane designs (none / 1)

There are aerodynamic and speed changes that can improve efficiency.

Boeing has come up with several of them and mostly they require lower speeds ( by about 100mph ) and/or implementing the blended wing body (BWB).

I can provide concept images if there is interest.

Even a well designed winglet improves in flight consumption by almost 10% and I still do not understand why there are airplanes that fly without them.

Orthodoxy is not a religion.

by BalkanIdentity (balkanid _ at _ google.com) on Wed Sep 27th, 2006 at 11:37:25 AM EST
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Re: Efficient plane designs (none / 0)