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Bringing Stakeholders Together to Address
Aviation's Environmental Challenges
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IN THIS ISSUE:
AGA Newsletter welcomes your contributions. If you see anything that should appear in our next issue, send it to us!
aga.communications@lindberghfoundation.org |
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BREAKTHROUGHS & DISCOVERIES
Early Indicators of Aviation Futures & Environmental Issues
EMISSIONS
(SmartPlanet.com, May 2012)
 Emissions-free air travel may be closer than we think. Last year, the Solar Impulse became the first solar-powered plane to complete an international flight. While its creators work towards their goal of a nonstop flight around the world, PC-Aero's Elektra One appears to be bringing commercially viable solar-powered air travel closer to being a reality. READ MORE...
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(AINOnline.com, May 2012)
"All of aviation, including general and business aviation, as well as the airlines, is working together really well to continually improve the environment," NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen declared last month during opening comments on a panel discussion about the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme. But he quickly added, "We are also working together to fight wrong-headed environmental regulations that don't work."
Speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 11th annual Aviation Summit in Washington, Bolen asserted that the track record of aviation working on the environment is strong. "[But] we recognize that this type of unilateral tax by one region of the world is not the way to promote global aviation and global aviation in an environmentally friendly way," he said. READ MORE...
FUEL INNOVATIONS
(AVWeb.com, May 2012)
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SUGAR Volt: Boeing's Hybrid Electric Aircraft
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While there are obvious drawbacks in carrying heavy batteries as a power source on long-haul flights, Boeing has taken up the challenge of designing a concept hybrid-electric-powered commercial aircraft. Boeing calls the project the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research aircraft, or SUGAR Volt. Much of the vehicle relies on technologies that would require further development to bring the concept aircraft to reality, but it is intended as a forward-looking project. That said, Boeing engineers targeted 2030-2050 as the timeframe that could see such an aircraft built and target a 70-percent improvement in fuel burn as a primary outcome. Along with powerplant innovations, Boeing's design also incorporates aerodynamic innovations. READ MORE...
USAToday.com, May 2012)
Amid the push to develop clean energy, new research suggests plant-based biofuels could meet 30% of global demand for transportation fuel and slash the greenhouse gas emissions that come from burning fossil fuels.
Recent scientific advances raise the possibility that biofuels can be made from non-edible plants engineered to grow on land abandoned for agricultural use and thus not compromise food production, according to an article this week in F1000 Biology Reports. READ MORE...
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(ATWOnline.com, May 2012)
The latest Boeing 787 to be received by All Nippon Airways (ANA) was partially powered on its delivery flight April 17 by biofuel, marking the first time a Dreamliner has used alternative fuel.
The flight from Everett, Washington, to Tokyo Haneda used a fuel mix partly derived from used cooking oil, and marked the first transpacific biofuel flight, according to Boeing. READ MORE...
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Researchers Testing Jet Fuel Produced From Mustard Plant
(TimesColonist.com, May 2012)
The skies over Ottawa are rumbling with the sound of a mid-sized business jet that's propelled by the product of Saskatchewan fields.
Researchers are test-flying a Dassault Falcon 20 plane that burns a biofuel blend derived from modified seeds of the Ethiopian mustard plant, Brassica carinata.
The experiment could result in a more sustainable jet fuel for the world, and bring additional revenues to Prairie farmers.
The project is a collaboration among Agrisoma Biosicences Inc., the National Research Council (NRC), Honeywell UOP Inc. and Saskatoon's Genome Prairie-led Prairie Gold project.
Brassica carinata is drought-and heat-tolerant and can be grown in areas not suited for canola, said Mejda Lortie, Agrisoma's director of regulatory affairs. READ MORE...
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(Planet Earth Online, May 2012)
 Algae could become an important source of sustainable biofuel, as production doesn't compete with food crops for land. But we may need to change the way we grow algae from closed systems to open ponds if it is to be low-carbon and cost-effective.
This is because current algae production in closed systems - usually for cosmetic ingredients - uses too much energy keeping the ecosystem isolated from the surrounding environment.
To overcome this issue, scientists from the University of Cambridge suggest that when grown in open ponds, algae should be supplemented with multiple species that help support the algae in some way. This would make the system less vulnerable to outside influences such as predators. READ MORE...
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U.S. Navy will Demonstrate Aircraft Powered by Biofuel
(AVWeb.com, May 2012)
The U.S. Navy's participation in a 22-nation exercise this summer will include a two-day demonstration of the "Great Green Fleet" carrier strike group, operating in part on alternative non-fossil fuels. The demonstration group will operate aircraft and non-carrier ships on 50/50 blends of biofuel and conventional fuels. The Navy has set a goal of 2020 to meet half of its energy needs with non-fossil fuels. The Great Green Fleet's two-day demonstration during the Rim of Pacific exercise is meant to precipitate a larger months-long deployment of a similarly fueled group set to deploy in 2016. Increases in fuel costs have pushed Defense Department spending $3 billion over budget in 2012 due to rising fuel costs. READ MORE...
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ORGANIZATIONS & INSTITUTIONS
Advanced Biofuels Win Major Victories on Capitol Hill Today
(BioRefiningMagazine.com, May 2012)
 The advanced biofuels industry won two milestone victories today in Washington, D.C. The Senate Agriculture Committee passed an amendment offered by Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Dick Lugar, R-Ind., that would restore $800 million in mandatory funding to the Farm Bill energy title.
Michael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association, told Biorefining Magazine that this was "quite an accomplishment" considering last week the draft bill committee chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and ranking member Pat Roberts, R-Kan., released essentially included no mandatory funding for energy programs. READ MORE...
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ATW's 5th Annual Eco-Aviation Conference & Awards Ceremony
(ATWOnline.com, May 2012)
ATW's 5th Annual Eco-Aviation Conference looks at the strategies and technologies being implemented by the air transport industry as it strives to create a greener, sustainable future.
ATW's Annual Eco-Aviation Conference was the first and still is the only conference in North America devoted to addressing a broad spectrum of topics arising from commercial aviation's impact on the environment. Attendees to this one day event include high-level executives in the airline industry and those interested in supplying eco-solutions to the air transport industry. READ MORE...
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White House Unveils National Bioeconomy Blueprint
(BioRefiningMagazine.com, May 2012)
On April 26 the Obama Administration released the National Bioeconomy Blueprint. The plan represents a comprehensive approach to harnessing innovations in biological research to address national challenges in health, food, energy and the environment. The initiative was originally announced by the White House last September. In October the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a request for information soliciting public comments on ideas and priorities for the initiative. The results of that work are now being announced.
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Minnesota, Arizona Sign New Biofuel Legislation into Law
(BioDieselMagazine.com, May 2012)
 Minnesota and Arizona have recently passed new laws related to biofuels. In Minnesota, the 2012 Omnibus Agriculture Policy bill extends exceptions to the state's biodiesel mandate for three more years, and also extends and expands the state's E20 mandate for two years. The two new Arizona laws help insure algae cultivation is treated the same as other agricultural operations under state law. READ MORE...
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(USAToday.com, May 2012)
Pilots of small, homemade aircraft have twice as many accidents and three times the fatalities as the rest of the general-aviation community, the National Transportation Safety Board found Tuesday.
Based on those findings, the five-member board unanimously approved recommendations for the Federal Aviation Administration and the Experimental Aircraft Association to develop better flight-test plans, encourage more training for pilots and conduct fuel tests on the aircraft. Engine failures are a leading cause of the accidents. READ MORE...
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PRESERVATION
(GeneralAviationNews.com, May 2012)
 As if being raised by humans in bird suits and taught to migrate by an ultralight aircraft wasn't challenging enough, a reintroduced flock of endangered whooping cranes now faces a new challenge: Mastering nesting and rearing chicks. But crane biologists and general aviation pilots are banding together to use flights in small airplanes to see if they can assist the cranes and grow this population.
Biologists have long suspected black flies were driving cranes off their nests, disrupting efforts to hatch the next generation of this fledgling population. The birds must sit on their nests and incubate their eggs for 30 days during the height of central Wisconsin's black fly season.
Scientists from the International Crane Foundation set up traps and fake nests throughout the nesting area in Necedah National Wildlife Refuge to monitor the abundance of black flies and other biting insects. They also selectively applied Bti, a biological control agent and the most common, environmentally safe way to reduce adult black fly numbers to dampen the swarms' impact on the nesting cranes. Aerial surveillance of the cranes' nests is critical to assess whether these black fly control measures are helping and also to facilitate the rescue of eggs, if nests are abandoned. READ MORE...
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LightHawk Pilots Help Save Marine Life
(AVWeb.com, May 2012)
 Marine scientists in Belize conducted a count of offshore marine animals for the first time recently, thanks to help from volunteer pilots flying with LightHawk. Government fisheries staff have surveyed marine mammals along the shore for 18 years, but in April, they were able to extend those efforts up to 50 miles off the coast. The aerial surveys found two sperm whales and 33 dolphins, as well as 11 turtles and 4 crocodiles. The sperm whales were seen at the southern end of Belize's barrier reef, swimming south towards Honduras. "This was not the first recording of sperm whales in Belize, but very little is known of their ecology here," said LightHawk's news release. Eclipse Aerospace also pitched in recently to help out when eight sea turtles needed a lift. READ MORE...
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Ecologists Take to the Skies in Fight Against Illegal Loggers
(Reuters.com, May 2012)
A new aerial surveillance system to protect forests and endangered species in remote parts of the world is being pioneered by a pair of ecologists in Switzerland. The researchers have designed and built their own flying drone that can capture evidence of illegal activity on film. Jim Drury reports. READ MORE...
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Felix Baumgartner's specially designed suit to cushion the fall. READ MORE...
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SYSTEM INNOVATIONS
(GeneralAviationNews.com, May 2012)
 DMA Aero has introduced the PAMB10/11 Precision Pressure Standard offering both Pitot Static and direct pressure/vacuum measurements throughout the atmospheric pressure range. With an accuracy of less than 2 feet at sea level, the instrument is considered a portable NIST traceable transfer standard that can be used to calibrate or validate Air Data Test Sets or aircraft instruments in the field, or simply measure barometric pressure with a very high precision, according to officials. READ MORE...
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(GizMag.com, May 2012)
 Volta Volaré has begun taking orders for its four-seater GT4 hybrid private aircraft it calls "the most technologically advanced private aircraft available anywhere on Earth." Though the GT4 is perfectly capable of taking off and flying powered only electrically, a gas engine starts when the airplane's battery drops to 25 percent capacity in order to recharge it mid-flight. Surprisingly, perhaps, Volta Volaré makes a strong economic case for the GT4. Because the powertrain has only one moving part - the motor or "EViation Drive" - the company claims the need for maintenance is reduced significantly, offering increases in TBO (time between overhaul) by up to a factor of ten when compared to a combustion engine. READ MORE...
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(ATWOnline.com, May 2012)
Boeing's newly announced winglet technology is expected to be the last major change to the 737 MAX before the aircraft design is finalized, the program's chief engineer said Wednesday.
Boeing revealed it was incorporating a new, all-Boeing developed winglet into the 737 MAX design that should give the aircraft up to a 1.5% fuel-burn improvement on top of the 10%-12% improvement that the new-engine MAX is expected to provide over today's newest 737s. READ MORE...
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Boeing Patent Features New Sonic Aircraft Concept Drawing
(ATWOnline.com, May 2012)
 Boeing has filed a new patent in which it updates its sonic cruiser sketches originally filed with the US Patent office in 2003, though a BCA Engineering spokesperson told ATW" [The] patent is on low noise technology, not a sonic cruiser. The drawing is merely a platform on which to display the technology." READ MORE...
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China's Stealth Fighter Gets Lethal Re-Design
(SmartPlanet.com, May 2012)
 Recently published photographs have revealed that China has begun testing a new version of their J-20 stealth fighter.
The latest prototype, assigned as number 2002, was spotted at a research facility in the city of Chengdu. Compared to the original 2001 model, the redesigned stealth jet features some slight, but notable modifications. Beyond this, not much is known about China's stealth program and there's still debate over whether such accelerated developments present any sort of credible threat to the F-22, America's supreme stealth fighter. READ MORE...
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First Flight of LEMV Military Blimp Scheduled for Next Month
(GizMag.com, May 2012)
 Next-generation airships are notorious for always being just around the corner, almost but not-quite ready to take to the skies. According to a report in Wired, however, Northrop Grumman's military Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle(LEMV) has been scheduled to make its maiden flight early next month.
The announcement was reportedly made at a special forces industry conference in Tampa, Florida, by Northrop Grumman's director of Army programs, K.C. Brown, Jr. READ MORE...
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Electric vehicle pioneer Chip Yates is upping the ante in the world of electric airplanes. Today, the world-record holder for electric motorcycles announced plans for an all-electric recreation of Charles Lindbergh's famous trans-Atlantic flight in 1927. And Yates isn't content with just retracing the path across the Atlantic. He's betting that like Lindbergh's, his airplane will fly non-stop to Paris. Yates plans on flying at least as fast as Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, and for added challenge and recreation authenticity, he'll fly relatively low to avoid getting an extra push from the jet stream. READ MORE... |
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FEATURE
2005 Lindbergh Award Winner Completes 1st Leg of Solar Powered World Tour
 Dr. Bertrand Piccard was recognized with the 2005 Lindbergh Award not only for his historic 'round-the-world flight in a hot-air balloon, and his spirit of adventure (which so closely mirrors that of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh), but for the new perspective on the environment that evolved from that experience. Piccard was also the winner of LEAP's Outstanding Achievement Award. The first flights of the Solar Impulse project, Piccard's solar powered plane, compare with Charles Lindbergh's flights in the Spirit of St. Louis, and the flights of SpaceshipOne, in that each shifted public perception of the potential of their respective industries.
7 Years Later, Piccard has completed the 1st leg of a world tour in his carbon Fiber solar-powered plane (via BBC.com):
"Pilot Bertrand Piccard landed the Solar Impulse in Rabat - 19 hours after taking off from Madrid. The plane - the size of a jumbo jet - was powered by 12,000 solar cells turning four electrical motors.
The 2,500km-trip (1,550 miles), begun in Switzerland in May, is described as a rehearsal for a world tour in 2014 .
Made of carbon fibre, the plane is the size of an Airbus A340 but only weighs as much as an average family car, according to its creators.
People were able to follow the aircraft's flight progress via a virtual dashboard on Solar Impulse's website, which showed the plane's battery status, altitude and speed.
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FUTURES OF AVIATION
(GeneralAviationNews.com, May 2012)
Have you seen any drones flying around you recently? More are in the sky than you might realize.
Information about where they are and where they might be was recently released by the FAA responding to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The Mail newspaper, in London, England, published the data.
Drones - officially known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) - are operating from 63 locations in 20 states. Most are being operated by the military, law enforcement agencies, and the U.S. Border Patrol. Also, 19 universities and colleges are on the operating list doing research. Some are flying in or near heavily populated areas, such as a Marine Corps base south of Washington, D.C., near the University of Connecticut, in southern Florida courtesy of the Miami-Dade County Police Department, and at NASA-Ames Research Center south of Oakland, California. READ MORE...
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Q&A: Vijay Kumar, Co-Creator of the Famous Flying Robot Swarm
(SmartPlanet.com, May 2012)
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A Swarm of Nano Quadrotors
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Earlier this year, a swarm of buzzing, glowing little robots took the Internet by storm. The video in which they appeared has amassed
and looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie: Twenty flying helicopter-robots hover in the air, glide together to form a perfect square, then zip through a small opening in pairs.
Posted by numerous media outlets - including SmartPlanet - the video came from a research team at the University of Pennsylvania's General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab. One of the robots' co-developers, Vijay Kumar, directed the lab from 1998-2005 and now serves as the deputy dean for education in Penn's Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics Department. He recently spoke with us about the viral video, his goals for the now-famous flying robot swarm and the status of GRASP's other projects, including bacteria-powered micro-robots. READ MORE...
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Store Offers Innovative Flying Hovercraft for $190,000
(SmartPlanet.com, May 2012)
While owning a Yacht has become somewhat of a rite of passage for the disgustingly wealthy, it's so yesterday. For a more cutting-edge way to show off, Mail order catalog company Hammacher Schlemmer is offering tycoons a rare opportunity to purchase a flying hovercraft for $190,000. READ MORE...
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Fighter Jets Without Pilots Test the Air
(SmartPlanet.com, May 2012)
This month, in the skies above the Irish Sea, some peculiar planes are flying. Planes without pilots.
The aircraft in question are fighter jets, and they're part of a series of tests to assess how good the current software is for flying planes without a human set of hands.
 What sets these planes apart from drones - driverless devices that are already in use in Afghanistan and all over the world - is that these jets are following instruction from a program, not a person. Drones are driven by people on the ground; pilots are giving the drones instructions in real time. These jets would have their instructions pre-programmed in. The idea is that they could fly, by themselves and without any hand holding, for days at a time. READ MORE...
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LINDBERGH FOUNDATION NEWS The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation celebrated its 35th anniversary on May 18th at the Explorer's Club in New York. Guest speakers included Reeve Lindbergh, Eugene Cernan, Jim Lovell and Neil Armstrong. Following a reception and dinner for about 100 guests, Capt. Lovell, who served on the Foundation's first Board, shared his recollections of the vision for the Foundation; Capt. Cernan reflected on receiving the Lindbergh Spirit Award in 2007, and Astronaut Armstrong offered his perspective on the Lindbergh Foundation, and his recollections of working with Jimmy Doolittle who served with him as national co-chair of the fundraising effort that endowed the Lindbergh Foundation. 
The Lindbergh Foundation celebration continued on Saturday, May 19th with a special anniversary program at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, a supporter of the Lindbergh Foundation and home to a remarkable and unique collection of rare aviation and space exhibits. The program celebrated the 85th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's New York-to-Paris flight, the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Lindbergh Foundation, and the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Museum. Erik Lindbergh, Larry Williams and John and Martha King participated in a panel discussion on the past and future of flight. Following a panel discussion, the Cradle dedicated a plaque commemorating Lindbergh's departure from nearby Roosevelt Field. The event also received mention on AOPA Live on May 24th. |
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ABOUT AGA
The Aviation Green Alliance creates multiple platforms for Members to share strategies, findings, progress, and ideas related to aviation's environmental challenges. AGA offers memberships for everyone, at the corporate, individual & academic level. Visit our website for more information. |
UPCOMING EVENTS
2012 ATW's 5th Annual Eco-Aviation Conference & Awards Ceremony June 20 - 21 Crystal City, VA Farnborough International Airshow July 9 - 15
Farnborough, UK
EAA AirVenture July 23 - 29 Oshkosh, WI 2012 Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition Aug 16 - 18 Sao Paulo, Brazil Rocky Mountain Airshow
Aug 24 - 26
Broomfield, CO SpeedNews 13th Annual Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference
September 17 - 19
Hôtel Palladia, France
AOPA Aviation Summit Oct 11 - 13 Palm Springs, CA NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention Oct 30 - Nov 1 Orlando, FL
Heard of an upcoming event? email us!
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MEMBER PROFILE: AGA Founding Member BRS Aerospace 
Based in South Saint Paul, Minnesota, BRS Aerospace designs, manufactures, and distributes whole-aircraft emergency parachute systems for general aviation and recreational aircraft. BRS Defense designs and manufactures a variety of parachute systems for US Department of Defense and foreign military customers. Since 1981, BRS Aerospace has delivered more than 31,000 parachute systems to aircraft owners worldwide, including over 4,700 systems on FAA-certificated aircraft such as Cirrus, Cessna 172/182 and the C-162 Skycatcher. To date, BRS Aerospace parachute recovery systems have been credited with saving the lives of 276 pilots and passengers.
BRS Aerospace Joined the Aviation Green Alliance on April 20th, 2012.
AVIATION GREEN ALLIANCE FOUNDING MEMBERS:  Bombardier Aerospace BRS Aerospace
Cessna Aircraft Company
Fantasy of Flight
FedEx Corporation
Hawker Beechcraft Corp.
Jeppesen
 Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
Individuals:
Greg Herrick
John and Martha King
David Treinis
Kermit Weeks
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AGA News Staff
Shelley Nehl
Staff Accountant
John Petersen
Editor
Andy Scott
Graphic Designer
David Treinis
Development
Kelley Welf
Consultant
Yolanka Wulff
Executive Director
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