{"id":5207,"date":"2012-02-12T11:56:31","date_gmt":"2012-02-12T18:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=5207"},"modified":"2012-02-12T11:56:31","modified_gmt":"2012-02-12T18:56:31","slug":"several-groups-now-testing-electric-taxiing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/several-groups-now-testing-electric-taxiing\/","title":{"rendered":"Several Groups Now Testing Electric Taxiing"},"content":{"rendered":"

It must at least seem like a good idea, because three different enterprises are taxi testing Airbuses with electric landing gear wheels meant to replace the large \u201ctugs\u201d that can be seen every day at airports around the world pushing jet airliners away from their boarding ramps. In current normal practice, the jets, with their engines at idle, are pushed onto a taxiway, at which point the tug disengages and the jet throttles up to begin the usually long taxi to a waiting runway.<\/p>\n

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Safran and Honeywell electric main gear on Airbus A-320<\/p><\/div>\n

Quirkily capitalized easyJet,<\/a> the United Kingdom\u2019s largest airline, is working with Honeywell <\/a>and Safran<\/a> to develop and test their version of this new technology, which they label the electric green taxiing system (EGTS).<\/p>\n

EGTS-equipped aircraft can taxi without the use of their jet engines by using the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) generator to power motors in the main wheels. Electromechanical actuators on each of the aircraft\u2019s powered wheels and what would need to be fairly-sophisticated motor controllers provide \u201ctotal control of the aircraft\u2019s speed, direction and braking during taxi operations.\u201d Reducing or eliminating the need for tugs would greatly improve airports\u2019 bottom lines, too.<\/p>\n

EGTS on its fleet may lead to further improvements in easyJet\u2019s proudly touted environmental record. \u201cThe airline takes sustainability seriously. easyJet invests in the latest technology, operates efficiently and fills most of its seats which means that an easyJet passenger\u2019s carbon footprint is 22% less than a passenger on a traditional airline, flying the same aircraft on the same route.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the high frequency and short sector lengths of easyJet\u2019s operations, around 4% of total fuel consumed annually is used when the airline\u2019s aircraft are taxiing. easyJet\u2019s aircraft average 20 minutes of taxi time per flight \u2013 the equivalent of 3.5 million miles a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

With operational trials scheduled for 2013, Honeywell and Safran hope to install EGTS on new aircraft or retrofit the system to in-service airliners \u201cas early as 2016.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0If the system works as planned and provides the estimated savings,\u201d easyJet \u201cwill also assist in establishing the airline standard operational procedures for aircraft equipped with the system,\u201d company sources report.<\/p>\n

Lufthansa has tried one approach \u2013 using a powered nose wheel driven by a fuel cell developed by Germany\u2019s space agency DLR (detailed in this blog last year<\/a>) \u2013 and a second with powered main wheels created by L3 Communications, Fraport<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lufthansa Technik installed electric motors on the main landing gear of a commercial aircraft taking over all necessary movements of an aircraft on ground. with Airbus support, the various partners teamed up \u201cto jointly test the technology demonstrator which might lead to a new way for aircraft to taxi.\u201d<\/p>\n