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Five big ideas that could change the future of air travel
WEDNESDAY16 APRIL 2014 BA's lanes !ill run on biofuel rec"cled fro# London rubbish$ It co#es as innovation in the aviation industr" sees aircraft getting greener% faster and do!nright !eirder than ever$

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&reen !ing

BA says it will buy all 50,000 tonnes of liquid jet fuel set to be produced each year at the former Coryton oil refinery in Thurrock, Esse ! The plant will recycle 5"5,000 tonnes of waste otherwise destined for landfill sites, leadin# to claims that this will be a sustainable, carbon$neutral fuel source! BA%s announcement comes ahead of the &lobal 'ustainable A(iation 'ummit in &ene(a later this month, and it could be the first of many similar announcements by airlines around the world as the industry seeks to

reduce its nearly "00 million$tonne carbon footprint! 'ome en(ironmentalists are opposed to the use of biofuel by the a(iation industry, but usually on the #rounds of the carbon cost of #rowin# biomass plants to con(ert into fuel, rather than usin# recycled waste or al#ae!

,r -im &ilmour, an e pert in microal#al biotechnolo#y from 'heffield .ni(ersity told Channel / 0ews1 2)e ha(e been really sti#matised by the first #eneration fuels! Ethanol from corn in the .' was probably worse than fossil fuels, and palm oil can be disastrous for the rain forest! 2But second #eneration fuels deri(ed from waste products or al#ae are a different story! 3 think the en(ironmentalists should be with us on this one! 2And they ha(e demonstrated that these fuels can be used in aircraft without any modifications! 2The problem is the scale$up! 3 can produce al#al biofuel for you tomorrow, but 3 won%t be able to #uarantee 3 can make enou#h of it!2

'un !orshi

4lanes still create carbon emissions e(en if they burn biofuel recycled from rubbish, but an aircraft that has no need for fuel at all is #rabbin# a hu#e amount of attention at the moment! The sun$powered 'olar 3mpulse 5 was un(eiled to the public for the first time earlier this month! 3t will attempt the first round$the$world solar fli#ht ne t year! 'olar 3mpulse 5 has a broader win#span than a Boein# "/" to accommodate the +",000 solar cell that dri(e its four propellers, but it wei#hs the same as a family car! 3mpro(ed technolo#y means it can stay in the air almost perpetually, flyin# day and ni#ht! 3n fact the main challen#es are human rather than technolo#ical! 3t could take si days and ni#hts to cross the 4acific! 6ow will the 'wiss pilots, Bertrand 4iccard and Andre Borschber#, cope with such lon# shifts at the

ers

controls in a small unheated cabin7 The pair say they ha(e mastered meditation and polyphasic sleep $ takin# multiple short power naps $ to help them maintain focus o(er the +0 le#s of the 55,000 mile trip! The plane can mana#e 88mph with no fuel and 9ero emissions, but wei#ht is at a premium, so solar$assisted passen#er fli#hts may be a lon# way off!

(he airshi rises again

The massi(e han#ars at Cardin#ton in Bedfordshire are relics from the +:50s heyday of the inflatable airship, when ;eppelins ferried passen#ers from &ermany to Bra9il o(er a leisurely three days! Competition from aeroplanes and a strin# of hi#h$profile airship disasters ended the #olden a#e of the diri#ible! But modern airships, now in(ariably pumped full of inert helium rather than flammable hydro#en like the ill$fated 6indenbur#, ha(e unique qualities that still #i(e them a commercial ed#e in the a#e of hypersonic fli#ht!

0ow Cardin#ton is home to the <00ft$lon# Airlander, the world%s lon#est and tallest aircraft! Early airships required lar#e #round crews haulin# on ropes to dra# them down to the #round and secure them! The Airlander can land (ertically in secluded parts of the world with no need for an airfield or lots of manpower! 3t was ori#inally desi#ned with the .' military in mind! The airship was supposed to fly at hi#h altitude o(er lar#e areas of Af#hanistan for days on end, watchin# out for insur#ents plantin# roadside bombs! Bud#et cuts and the drawdown of coalition troops meant the end of that idea, but the Airlander%s creators, British company 6ybrid Air =ehicles, are floatin# many other applications! 'pokesman Chris ,aniels said the firm is in talks with unnamed internet #iants o(er the possibility of usin# airships as floatin# communications platforms, pro(idin# broadband internet access to rural areas! A lar#er (ersion capable of liftin# more than 50 tonnes could transport machinery to otherwise inaccessible mines in Alaska, or airlift (ictims from secluded 6imalayan earthquake 9ones! )ith a current top speed of +00mph, commercial passen#ers won%t look to the airship for hi#h$speed tra(el, but the Airlander%s de(elopers ha(e a (ision of lu ury cruises where passen#ers can rela in a noiseless cabin while ho(erin# abo(e mi#ratin# pods of blue whales! The first test fli#ht is scheduled for late this year, and passen#er fli#hts could be#in by 50+>!

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)e! !ave

An airship will #et you from ?ondon to 0ew @ork in a day and a half! A )a(eAider could theoretically mana#e the trip in less than an hour! Boein# made history last year when its *$5+ prototype hit mach 5!+ $ fi(e times the speed of sound or about <,:00mph $ durin# a test fli#ht lastin# about four minutes! The unmanned fli#ht was the lon#est e(er in the hypersonic ran#e! ,e(eloped by British en#ineers workin# on the aborted .B space pro#ramme in the +:50s, a )a(eAider uses the shock wa(e created by its leadin# ed#e to increase the amount of air trapped under the win#s, impro(in# lift! )ith its snub nose and short, stubby win#s, the *$5+ is more rocket than plane, and there are numerous technical difficulties that put piloted hypersonic passen#er fli#ht a lon# way off!

Fl"ing cars$$$

!!!already e ist! The .' firm Terrafu#ia markets a planeCcar hybrid called the Transition! 3t is essentially a li#ht aircraft with a cruisin# speed of around +00mph and ran#e of /+0 miles! Dn land, the win#s fold up to form a street$le#al car that carries four passen#ers and can fit into a suburban #ara#e! The company is takin# orders and e pects the Transition to cost E5":,000 FE+>>,000G! The only drawback is that you still need a runway to take off from and land on! Terrafu#ia plans to sol(e that with its ne t #eneration hybrid, featurin# (ertical take$off and landin# like a 6arrier jump jet! 3t is en(isa#ed that owners will be able to pro#ramme the (ehicle to fly a route by itself, automatically a(oidin# other aircraft and patches of bad weather, rather than ha(e to pilot it manually! The machine is still in the desi#n sta#es and it could take up to +5 years to de(elop!

3t may not be the #reenest option but the company thinks their desi#ns will re(olutionise air tra(el, makin# the e perience of ownin# a pri(ate aircraft more con(enient and affordable than e(er!

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