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Boeing and Etihad Airways conduct ecoDemonstrator tests including maximum use of sustainable aviation fuel
September 25th 2020
Boeing said this week its ecoDemonstrator program included test flights powered by 50,000 gallons of a sustainable aviation biofuel blend. Read More »
The company has released some details of its 2020 ecoDemonstrator program that involved an Etihad Airways 787-10 as a flying test bed.
The 787-10 was used to research noise reduction, on board disinfection, airspace and operational efficiency and the use of sustainable aviation fuel.
Boeing said the noise reduction work included collaboration with the U.S.’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) acoustics research expertise.
The aircraft conducted 88 passes in about 50 different test configurations and manoeuvres, with the sound monitored by 213 microphones on the aircraft and 1,000 microphones on the ground.
There also were 23 passes with modified landing gear fairings developed by Safran to reduce noise during approach.
The ecoDemonstrator program also evaluated a system that aimed to optimise flight routings.
The 50,000 gallons of a 50/50 blend of standard aviation fuel and biofuel produced for test flights was the maximum sustainable fuel blend permitted for commercial aviation.
Manufactured by World Energy in California, it was produced from inedible agricultural waste and lowered carbon dioxide emissions by 75% over its life cycle.
Etihad Airways senior vice president for technical, Paul Kear, said this week the involvement with Boeing's ecoDemonstrator program expanded a sustainability alliance it signed with Boeing in 2019.
"Here at Etihad, we love the 787. We love its flexibility, we love its efficiency and ultimately it is our most efficient aircraft by over 15%," Kear told reporters this week.
“Given the commercial pressures we are under, we are even more determined to find efficiencies and improve the environment.”
Kear said Etihad would have 40 787 family aircraft by the end of calendar 2020 and has another 11 on order.
An ultraviolet wand able to disinfect a flight deck in 15 minutes that Boeing designed and developed was evaluated on the Etihad 787-10 ecoDemonstrator.
It was announced this week the wand would enter production through a patent and technology license signed with United States-based Healthe Inc.
"What's really important is that it minimises use of liquid disinfectants on electronic components," Boeing ecoDemonstrator program technical leader, Doug Christensen, said.
"The flight deck is full of buttons and knobs and touch-screen displays. Using this wand, it is a cleaner, faster way of disinfecting the flight deck."
An anti-microbial coating was also tested on the flight deck.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president and general manager of product development, Mike Sinnett, said the company was planning for future ecoDemonstrator programs.
"Obviously it is a tough environment that we are in today. However, we still remain dedicated to improving sustainability in our industry and improving safety in our industry and we continue to do relevant work there to improve both goals," Sinnett said.
It was the seventh iteration of the program, which began in 2012 with an American Airlines 737-800. Sinnett said about one-third of the 130 initiatives tested over the years had found their way onto an aircraft.
