Five big ideas that could change the future of air travel

WEDNESDAY16 APRIL 2014

BA's planes will run on biofuel recycled from London rubbish. It comes as innovation

in the aviation industry sees aircraft getting greener, faster and downright weirder

than ever.

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Green wingBA 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, Essex.

The plant will recycle 575,000 tonnes of waste otherwise destined for

landfill sites, leading to claims that this will be a sustainable, carbon-neutral

fuel source.

BA's announcement comes ahead of the Global Sustainable Aviation

Summit in Geneva later this month, and it could be the first of many similar

announcements by airlines around the world as the industry seeks to

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With its snub nose and short, stubby wings, the X-51 is m

reduce its nearly 700 million-tonne carbon footprint.

Some environmentalists are opposed to the use of biofuel by the aviation

industry, but usually on the grounds of the carbon cost of growing biomass

plants to convert into fuel, rather than using recycled waste or algae.

Dr Jim Gilmour, an expert in microalgal biotechnology from Sheffield

University told Channel 4 News: "We have been really stigmatised by the

first generation fuels. Ethanol from corn in the US was probably worse than

fossil fuels, and palm oil can be disastrous for the rain forest.

"But second generation fuels derived from waste products or algae are a

different story. I think the environmentalists should be with us on this one.

"And they have demonstrated that these fuels can be used in aircraft

without any modifications.

"The problem is the scale-up. I can produce algal biofuel for you tomorrow,

but I won't be able to guarantee I can make enough of it."

Sun worshippersPlanes still create carbon emissions even if they burn biofuel recycled from

rubbish, but an aircraft that has no need for fuel at all is grabbing a huge

amount of attention at the moment.

The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 was unveiled to the public for the first

time earlier this month. It will attempt the first round-the-world solar flight

next year.

Solar Impulse 2 has a broader wingspan than a Boeing 747 to

accommodate the 17,000 solar cell that drive its four propellers, but it

weighs the same as a family car.

Improved technology means it can stay in the air almost perpetually, flying

day and night.

In fact the main challenges are human rather than technological. It could

take six days and nights to cross the Pacific. How will the Swiss pilots,

Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, cope with such long shifts at the

controls in a small unheated cabin?

The pair say they have mastered meditation and polyphasic sleep - taking

multiple short power naps - to help them maintain focus over the 10 legs of

the 22,000 mile trip.

The plane can manage 88mph with no fuel and zero emissions, but weight

is at a premium, so solar-assisted passenger flights may be a long way off.

The airship rises againThe massive hangars at Cardington in Bedfordshire are relics from the

1920s heyday of the inflatable airship, when Zeppelins ferried passengers

from Germany to Brazil over a leisurely three days.

Competition from aeroplanes and a string of high-profile airship disasters

ended the golden age of the dirigible.

But modern airships, now invariably pumped full of inert helium rather than

flammable hydrogen like the ill-fated Hindenburg, have unique qualities

that still give them a commercial edge in the age of hypersonic flight.

Now Cardington is home to the 300ft-long Airlander, the world's longest and

tallest aircraft.

Early airships required large ground crews hauling on ropes to drag them

down to the ground and secure them. The Airlander can land vertically in

secluded parts of the world with no need for an airfield or lots of manpower.

It was originally designed with the US military in mind. The airship was

supposed to fly at high altitude over large areas of Afghanistan for days on

end, watching out for insurgents planting roadside bombs.

Budget cuts and the drawdown of coalition troops meant the end of that

idea, but the Airlander's creators, British company Hybrid Air Vehicles, are

floating many other applications.

Spokesman Chris Daniels said the firm is in talks with unnamed internet

giants over the possibility of using airships as floating communications

platforms, providing broadband internet access to rural areas.

A larger version capable of lifting more than 50 tonnes could transport

machinery to otherwise inaccessible mines in Alaska, or airlift victims from

secluded Himalayan earthquake zones.

With a current top speed of 100mph, commercial passengers won't look to

the airship for high-speed travel, but the Airlander's developers have a

vision of luxury cruises where passengers can relax in a noiseless cabin

while hovering above migrating pods of blue whales.

The first test flight is scheduled for late this year, and passenger flights

could begin by 2016.

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New waveAn airship will get you from London to New York in a day and a half. A

WaveRider could theoretically manage the trip in less than an hour.

Boeing made history last year when its X-51 prototype hit mach 5.1 - five

times the speed of sound or about 3,900mph - during a test flight lasting

about four minutes. The unmanned flight was the longest ever in the

hypersonic range.

Developed by British engineers working on the aborted UK space

programme in the 1950s, a WaveRider uses the shock wave created by its

leading edge to increase the amount of air trapped under the wings,

improving lift.

With its snub nose and short, stubby wings, the X-51 is more rocket than

plane, and there are numerous technical difficulties that put piloted

hypersonic passenger flight a long way off.

Flying cars......already exist. The US firm Terrafugia markets a plane/car hybrid called the

Transition. It is essentially a light aircraft with a cruising speed of around

100mph and range of 410 miles.

On land, the wings fold up to form a street-legal car that carries four

passengers and can fit into a suburban garage. The company is taking

orders and expects the Transition to cost £279,000 (£166,000).

The only drawback is that you still need a runway to take off from and land

on. Terrafugia plans to solve that with its next generation hybrid, featuring

vertical take-off and landing like a Harrier jump jet.

It is envisaged that owners will be able to programme the vehicle to fly a

route by itself, automatically avoiding other aircraft and patches of bad

weather, rather than have to pilot it manually.

The machine is still in the design stages and it could take up to 12 years to

develop.

It may not be the greenest option but the company thinks their designs will

revolutionise air travel, making the experience of owning a private aircraft

more convenient and affordable than ever.

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Posted by Thavam