What seemed like an easy transition a few years ago has been delayed by one developer. “Safran and Honeywell have delayed by two years the planned entry into service of their electric green taxiing system (EGTS), a device designed to enable an airplane to taxi with its engines shut down. Aviation International News (AIN) quoted a spokesperson as saying, “The team is still working on the program with a goal of certification in 2018 and entry into service shortly after.” The system uses motors on the main gear to enable taxiing under power. One of several competing systems, WheelTug, has motors on the nose gear only. Wheeltug uses a Boeing 737-800 as a testbed for the certification program. A United States company with manufacturing apparently based in Gibraltar, WheelTug claims orders for 985 systems by 22 airlines. Another system, TaxiBot, was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries in cooperation with France’s TLD, Germany’s LufthansaLEOS, the ground-handling component of the airline. The …
Noise or Emissions – We Can Do Without Both
GreenAirOnline, a web report on mainly airline attempts to promote environmentally-friendly flying, has two not-unrelated stories in today’s edition. Noise abatement is a major issue for British airports, especially those in the southeast, according to the first story. Kate Jennings, Head of Aviation Policy Implementation at the Department for Transport, says the government recognizes that it is a “particularly contentious issue.” Even though noise has been reduced for individual flights, flight frequency has increased and measured noise footprints don’t always match the perceived noise levels that drew public complaints, Ms. Jennings reported. “That’s why at an ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organizaton) and political level we need to keep the pressure on to identify ways of further reducing noise and there needs to be an intelligent debate on the trade-offs between emissions and noise,” she told the recent UK Airport Operators Association (AOA) Environment Conference in London. British airports have been practicing several approaches to cutting both emissions and noise, including …