Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008 - (Page 68)

CLEAN FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 AND GREEN All-Electric: Boeing FC Demonstrator Is Here south of Madrid, three flights were conducted in February and March by pilot Cecilio Barberan, each for 30 minutes at a cruising altitude of approximately 3,000 feet. The initial foray aloft was for configuration and handling evaluation only and was powered by the lithium batteries alone. On the flights, Barberan reported that the aircraft was unusually quiet, with only slipstream and propeller Boeing’s fuel cell demonstrator noise audible in the boasts an all-electric powertrain. cockpit. While the fuel cell does generate heat, its While the fuel cell does generate heat, its infrared signature is claimed to be “insignifinfrared signature is claimed to be “insignificant” icant” compared to that compared to that of an IC engine, making it H2 hardware takes up the right seat. of an IC engine, making ideal as a power source for a reconnaissance tute of Madrid, allowed it ideal as a power source for a UAV. An additional benefit for that application the Austrian motor glider reconnaissance UAV. An additional to take off on power from benefit for that application is that, is that, from the surface, the aircraft is almost both sources. Once in from the surface, the aircraft is completely silent at altitude. flight, the pilot was able almost completely silent at altito manually disconnect tude. BRTE, a division of Boeing’s cell power for UAV applications, vessel was supplied by Canada’s the batteries and fly solely on power Phantom Works experimental the two-seat Dimona’s engine was Dynetek. The Dimona’s original from the PEM fuel cell. In flight the aircraft laboratory, also sees solidreplaced by an electric motor (by fuel tank was replaced with a tank Dimona cruised at a maximum air- oxide fuel cell applications for Colorado’s UQM Technologies) for water used in the electrochem- speed of 62 mph, or approximately auxiliary power units in commercial energized by a lithium-ion bat- ical conversion of hydrogen into 100 kph. For safety, both power aircraft. An additional environtery and fuel cell power system. The electricity. Minor changes were sources were used for landings. mental payoff in the APU role is the 15-kW proton-exchange mem- made to the former engine com- Takeoff weight of the modified air- fuel cell’s zero-emissions benefit (it’s brane (PEM) fuel cell was built by partment and cowling to increase frame is 1,850 pounds, including the carbon-negative). Boeing believes Intelligent Energy in the UK, while ventilation for cooling the fuel cell. 205-pound fuel cell and 22 pounds the technology could be sufficiently mature within ten to 15 years for The power-management system, of water. the batteries were supplied by Operating from Ocana Airport commercial use. France’s Saft. A hydrogen pressure designed by the Polytechnic Insti—David Esler While walking the static line at Farnborough, look for a Diamond Aircraft Dimona motor glider powered by, well, a real motor—an electric one, as opposed to an internal combustion engine. This is the Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BRTE) fuel cell demonstrator, brought to the UK for exhibit here after completing a successful flight test program in Spain earlier this year. For the program, intended to study the feasibility of hydrogen fuel Pump for Less, Says Eaton Eaton is promoting a variable displacement ring fuel pump it says can save $37,000 per year on a Boeing 737, amounting to $1 million over the life of the aircraft. The VDRP is already in use on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Eaton says. It’s a candidate for 737NG jets. The advanced fuel pump technology provides “an optimum combination of fuel savings, hardware robustness, reliability, thermal efficiency, controllability and lower life-cycle cost,” the manufacturer says. Eaton says the VDRP is 25% more efficient than traditional fuel pumps. It also makes for lower fuel system temperatures (up to 100°F at idle descent), less parasitic input power shaft consumption (-15 horsepower at cruise) and better specific fuel consumption. The unit produces only the flow and pressure demanded by the system, Eaton says, doing so via “a simple displacement control actuation mechanism Eaton’s Daisy Bonhoure with variable displacement ring fuel pump. trol of the pump, more rapid response and, Eaton that adjusts to the dynamic performance says, “a more stable overall operation.” demands of the jet engine.” Eaton is at Stand C5 in Hall 3. The actuation system allows for better con- 68 July 16, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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Bombardier, Shenyang $5 Billion for Composites 787 and Seven V-22s for Export Sale? Saving Fuel at SFO Raytheon Roars Into UAVs Bell Eyes ARH-70A Costs All According to Plan We Fly the PC-12NG Russia’s T-50 PAK-FA Optimistic in Israel ICAO Sim Classifications Pratt to Power New Drone Russian Conglomerate

Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008

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