{"id":14039,"date":"2021-07-15T05:38:21","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T09:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=14039"},"modified":"2021-07-15T05:43:28","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T09:43:28","slug":"hitching-a-ride-how-to-save-fuel-with-geese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/hitching-a-ride-how-to-save-fuel-with-geese\/","title":{"rendered":"Hitching a Ride: How To Save Fuel with Geese"},"content":{"rendered":"

Industry heavyweight Airbus is currently running an innovative new trial<\/a> over the North Atlantic that has potential to change the way we fly in oceanic airspace<\/strong> – and ANSPs Eurocontrol, NAT, DNSA and Navcanada are all on board. It’s called wake harnessing<\/strong>, and it was invented by geese. Okay maybe not ‘invented’ – but certainly provided by nature.<\/p>\n

Geese, you say?<\/h4>\n

Geese have already left their mark on aviation history in ways that that we\u2019d probably like to forget. So, it seems only fair that they do something positive for the industry too.<\/p>\n

And now it seems that they are (unintentionally, but we\u2019ll still take it). When a flock of Canada Geese infamously downed an airliner<\/a> over New York back in 2009, they were flying in formation.<\/p>\n

They were doing that because they were going somewhere and using each other to make things easier. Geese are known fly 1500 miles in a single day<\/em>. That\u2019s only possible because they use very little energy doing it.<\/p>\n

So why do we care?<\/h4>\n

One word: biomimicry<\/strong>. Or in more simple terms \u2013 copying nature. When we want to figure out how to do something that we don\u2019t know how to do, it\u2019s often worth looking out the window. Nature, it seems, always finds a way.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Copying nature – look familiar?<\/p><\/div>\n

Enter aviation. When it comes to fuel, it is facing a couple of big problems.<\/strong> The first is that ICAO have set some seriously lofty goals<\/a> for improving fuel efficiency and carbon emissions. While the other issue is dosh. Jet fuel is expensive and modern aircraft use a lot of it. Reducing fuel burn is big business, especially in an environment where profit margins are tiny.<\/p>\n

There are solutions coming.<\/em>\u00a0Sustainable aviation fuel<\/a> and next-gen turbine engine design<\/a> have been making headlines recently. But behind the scenes Airbus has been turning to nature to help solve the problem using existing technologies<\/strong> we have today and by changing the way we fly<\/strong> \u2013 and it\u2019s all thanks to geese.<\/p>\n

The Flying-V<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Geese fly long distances in formation. Have you ever wondered why?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s because they are using something called wake energy retrieval<\/strong>. It\u2019s a really fancy term for riding each other\u2019s wave<\/strong>.<\/em> It\u2019s the result of countless years of evolution and it may have big implications for airplanes.<\/p>\n

Here’s how it works: When a bird flaps its wings its tips creates vortices. In the same way that our man-made wings do. These vortices create a horizontal swirl of air \u2013 an outer upward component and an inner downward one.<\/p>\n

The reason why birds fly in a V is because if they position themselves in such a way that their wings stay in upward-moving air from the bird in front, they can effectively fly in an updraft, constantly<\/strong>. Which means they flap less and travel further.<\/p>\n

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Each bird harnesses the energy lost from the wake of the bird in front. Courtesy: Airbus<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

What if airplanes did the same thing (but with less flapping)?<\/h4>\n

Airbus thinks that\u2019s a good question. Since 2016 they have been copying geese by flying large jets in formation so that the trailing aircraft \u2018rides the wake\u2019 of the one in front.<\/p>\n

It turns out that if you find just the right spot, not only is it smooth for the passengers, but also very fuel efficient<\/strong>. Get this<\/em> – Airbus have shown fuel savings of five to ten percent<\/strong> simply due to the effects of this phenomenon, and potential to reduce overall climate impact by twenty-five percent.<\/p>\n

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Copying nature: Riding the smooth updraft from the aircraft in front. Courtesy: DLR Aerospace<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

They’re heavyweight numbers. That\u2019s because by flying in the upward component of the wake from the aircraft in front, we are essentially getting free lift<\/strong>. Or in other words, \u2018harnessing’ energy we\u2019d otherwise lose \u2013 which is why the concept is also known as \u2018wake harnessing\u2019.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost as though the trailing aircraft is flying in a gentle descent while level. That means less thrust, less fuel and less emissions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the kicker \u2013 you have to get close<\/strong>. Like real close. Airbus have found the optimum distance between aircraft is only 1.5nm. That\u2019s a fraction of the spacing applied by ATC. But with existing technologies like TCAS and ADS-C it’s not unreasonable to think that this can be achieved safely.<\/p>\n

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Something we’re not used to in the sky…<\/p><\/div>\n

Airbus have called the project Fello\u2019fly.<\/h4>\n

And here’s how it works.<\/p>\n

ETAs would be used by ATC at feeder waypoints<\/strong> to set aircraft up for their \u2018wake energy retrieval pairing\u2019- i.e. formation. The aircraft will still be separated both horizontally and vertically<\/strong>, but close enough for the pairing process to begin.<\/p>\n

Responsibility for separation will then be handed to the two aircraft. Using newly developed FMS software, the trailing airplane will slowly close in on the leading one until it is positioned in the optimum spot for wake harnessing<\/strong>. There it will stay until the two aircraft part ways again. The lead aircraft will be responsible for talking to ATC while in formation.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not all smooth sailing.<\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>While the idea has some serious potential there are some fairly obvious hurdles that would need to be overcome:<\/p>\n

Wasting energy.<\/strong> The idea only works if aircraft don\u2019t waste energy flying at sub-optimal speeds to make it happen. In other words, loitering or playing catch up. Which means it will be difficult to achieve for aircraft departing the same airport.<\/p>\n

Instead the answer may lie in new software. For instance, German researchers have developed ‘MultiFly’ – a system that identifies jets that can be paired together based on type, location and how long they will be on the same route.<\/p>\n

Different aircraft.<\/strong> Unlike a flock of geese, all aircraft types are different. 1.5nm may be optimal for a pair of A350s, but more testing needs to be done to find the sweet spot for all possible combinations of jets. Both aircraft would also need to have the same optimal cruise speed \u2013 otherwise all the gains would be pointless.<\/p>\n

Then there is the raft of regulatory changes that would be required to make sure this can all happen safely.<\/p>\n

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There are some challenges to flying in formation.<\/p><\/div>\n

Full Speed Ahead<\/h4>\n

Despite the obvious challenges that wake harnessing presents, if they can be overcome the potential benefits are obvious. Airbus is pressing ahead with the project and hope to make it reality in oceanic airspace by the middle of the decade.<\/p>\n

Considering the growth potential of the industry in a post-Covid world, formation flight may be the next big step in cleaner and more efficient flying.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019d have ever thought we get there with the help of geese?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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