Toulouse. When Airbus was inspired by geese to fly two A350s to Canada
Through Thibaut Calatayud
Published on
Of them A350 who steal from Toulouse toward Montreal (Canada) only three kilometers away, this is the funny demonstration that made Airbus, Tuesday, November 9, 2021. This project, called Fello’fly, is based on the theft of large migratory birds in order to save fuel.
Airbus is inspired by geese
Throughout the journey, the two A350s followed each other very closely, like geese during their migration. Concretely, by recovering the energy lost by the leading aircraft, the leading aircraft reduces engine thrust and fuel consumption by more than 5% per trip.
“This was made possible by the flight control systems developed by Airbus which position the follower aircraft safely in the wake updraft of the leading aircraft, allowing it to reduce engine thrust and fuel consumption. of fuel, ”explains the aircraft manufacturer.
These two # A350 “Fellos” made the 1st transatlantic flight in a twin plane from Toulouse to Montreal airport!
what #fellofly? A follower ✈️ recovers the wake energy lost by a leader ✈️, reducing engine thrust and fuel consumption by more than 5% per trip.
Watch to find out more. pic.twitter.com/xt6w2h11RB– Airbus (@Airbus) November 9, 2021
Six tonnes of CO2 saved
By achieving this performance, Airbus was therefore able to achieve significant fuel savings on these long-haul flights. Good news for the planet since more than six tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided during this trip like no other.
“This demonstration flight is a concrete example of our commitment to making our decarbonisation roadmap a reality. It also shows how essential collaboration across the industry will be to achieve this. We have received strong support for this project from our airline and airline partners, as well as from regulators. The opportunity to find this out for passenger planes around the middle of this decade is very promising. Imagine the potential if fello’fly were deployed across the industry! “
But before that, the authorities must agree to support this new concept of flight in order to obtain certification. Ultimately, this could allow airlines to fly in this way in order to reduce their consumption of polluting emissions.
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