Doncaster-Sheffield Airport And Hydrogen
I believe that the airport of the future will need a lot of hydrogen.
I am probably more optimistic than most, that we will see hydrogen-powered aircraft by around 2035, as my calculations say it is probably the only way to move a hundred people by air at a time, without using fossil fuels.
Airports also have a large number of larger vehicles, that will I believe be ideal for hydrogen power.
Hydrogen buses and coaches will be more common, than they are now.
Heavy goods vehicles are likely to turn to hydrogen power.
Humberside has a large hydrogen network, which is fed by two massive hydrogen stores at AldBrough and Brough.
I suspect that Nimbys will object to hydrogen around airports on safety grounds.
But Doncaster Sheffield Airport could be an ideal location for an airport for hydrogen-powered aircraft.
London Gatwick Implementing Time-Based Separation On Single Mixed-Mode Runway
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Flight Global.
These four paragraphs introduce the technique.
UK air navigation service NATS has applied its intelligent arrival separation system to a mixed-mode single runway for the first time, with implementation at London Gatwick.
The system uses dynamic time-based – rather than distance-based – approach spacing in order to maintain sufficient arrival rates in strong headwind conditions.
Headwinds reduce the groundspeed of inbound aircraft flying at a set airspeed. This means a longer interval between two arrivals spaced a fixed distance apart.
“Having to maintain set separation distances in those conditions reduces the landing rate and can have a significant knock-on effect to the airport operation,” says NATS.
I have flown light aircraft onto main runways at major airports several times, including Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Naples, Nice, Southend and Stansted.
In one approach I made to Dublin airport, this type of approach may well have been of assistance.
I was flying into Dublin in my Piper Arrow; G-JMTT.
- I had crossed over Anglesey to leave Wales and I was talking to RAF Valley, whilst I crossed the Irish Sea in more of a direct line for Dublin Airport.
- The RAF handed me over to Dublin Approach, who gave me a series of vectors to point me at the main runway at Dublin Airport.
- Dublin Tower, then gave me the instruction. “Tango-Tango Can you speed it up a bit! There’s a Jumbo on your tail!”
- I replied. “Affirmative! Tango-Tango!” I then lowered the nose and pointed it at the runway to speed things up a bit.
- Dublin Tower, then asked. “Tango-Tango On landing, can you expedite clearing the runway?”
- There was then a brief exchange, where I negotiated my route off the runway, by taking the first taxiway on the left and then stopping.
- After a safe landing and a stop on the taxiway, Dublin Tower called. “Tango-Tango! We’ll give you ten out of ten for that!”
- After which the Jumbo rushed past on the runway, with the pilot giving a quick laugh over the radio.
- Dublin Tower called. “Welcome to Dublin!”
The Irish have different ways of doing things!
But, seriously, NATS are probably just implimenting a computerised form of what good air traffic controllers have done for years.
In that arrival at Dublin, the controllers had stretched the time and distance between my small Piper and the Jumbo, so everything was safe.
There alternative would have been to delay one of the planes.
Conclusion
It looks to me that the application of a new algorithm by NATS, will squeeze a few more aircraft into Gatwick’s single runway.
Heathrow: Where Was The Redundancy?
In the early 1970s, I was involved in a small way, in the design of chemical plants for ICI.
When designing a chemical plant, you obviously want a plant that will have a high availability, so output is maximised, even if some parts have to be shut down.
With chemical plants, you might duplicate some reaction vessels, pipework or pumps for example.
But surely, when you are designing large infrastructure, it should be designed to keep going.
This document from Network Rail is entitled £140m Transformation Of Liverpool Lime Street Completed On Time.
These bullet points serve as sub-headings.
- Track, platform and signalling improvements
- Paving the way for bigger, better trains with more seats for more customers in future
- Part of the wider Great North Rail Project
- Part of #StationsDay – celebrating the £5.2billion investment to regenerate Britain’s rail stations
But I also believe two other important sub-projects were carried out during the work.
The Station Has Been Substantially Prepared For High Speed Two
Consider.
- Platforms were lengthened so they can accept 265.3-metre long eleven-car Class 390 trains.
- Platforms were widened, so they could handle the 607 passengers, that can be carried in an eleven-car train.
- There appears to be five full-size platforms numbered 6-10.
- Is there the possibility of a sixth platform, which is currently numbered E (for Emergency (?))?
- The approaches to the station have been remodeled, so trains can enter the station very efficiently.
- The Class 390 trains are going between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street stations, in times that are not far off those expected from High Speed Two trains.
As Liverpool Lime Street will only need to handle half-length 200-metre long classic compatible High Speed Two trains, Liverpool Lime Street station is now ready for High Speed Two.
Liverpool Lime Street Station Is Now Effectively Two Five Platform Stations
This OpenRailwayMap shows the platform layout at Liverpool Lime Street station.
Note.
- The platforms indicated by blue dots with numbers are the ten platforms of the station.
- The platforms in the Northern-half of the station are numbered 1-5.
- The platforms in the Southern-half of the station are numbered 6-10.
- All platforms; 1-10 are electrified.
- The white line running diagonally across the map, shows the route of the loop of the Wirral Line.
Click the map to show it to a larger scale.
These are some of my pictures of the station.
It is without doubt, one of the best stations aesthetically and operationally in the world.
AI Could Make New Runways Obsolete
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Jewish News.
This is the sub-heading.
As Heathrow’s controversial third runway gets the green light and Gatwick looks on track for a second one, an Israeli tech innovation could reduce the need for such costly expansions.
These paragraphs add some detail.
IntellAct is a cutting-edge AI company that helps airports maximise efficiency, cut delays and save billions of pounds. By optimising ground operations and reducing aircraft turnaround times, it could spare airports the need for new runways entirely.
“The aviation industry is bleeding from a thousand cuts,” says Udi Segall, IntellAct’s founder and CEO. “Constant delays – with an average of 15.5 minutes per flight — add up to billions in costs. We saw a financial opportunity in how airlines manage their activities, and that’s where IntellAct comes in.”
IntellAct leverages big data and machine learning to provide airlines, airports and ground handling teams with real-time visibility into service performance bottlenecks and the ability to address them in a way that can yield significant operational improvements and a dramatic reduction in flight delays.
It’s an interesting thought.
I am reminded of a story from the 1960s, from ICI.
They had a polypropylene plant, that was notoriously inefficient, so a guy called Humphrey Bowen (?) used a discrete simulation program called HOCUS to create a board game of the chemical plant. This game was then played one Sunday, with beer and sandwiches between the various teams of production workers. It became heated at one point, but they did learn a lot about the behaviour of the plant and improved its efficiency.
I think it is true to say, that in the early 1970s, I worked with a bunch of interesting people at ICI Plastics.
These days, use might be made of a digital twin.
Gatwick’s Hydrogen Advantage Over Heathrow
The Future Of Hydrogen In Aviation
I believe that hydrogen will have a big future in aviation.
Powering Aircraft
It will be some years, but not as many as some people think, before we see hydrogen-powered aircraft in the air.
Airbus have produced this infographic of three possible hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Discover the three zero-emission concept aircraft known as ZEROe in this infographic. These turbofan, turboprop, and blended-wing-body configurations are all hydrogen hybrid aircraft.
I wrote a bit more about these three hydrogen-powered concepts in ZEROe – Towards The World’s First Zero-Emission Commercial Aircraft.
My best estimate is that we’ll see hydrogen-powered aircraft in the air by 2035.
Towing Aircraft Around
Most aircraft are very heavy and towing them around needs a lot of zero-carbon energy.
So I think it is likely, that at some time in the near future,tugs to tow large aircraft around an airport will be hydrogen powered.
If you type “hydrogen-powered aircraft tug” into Google, you get several sensible product developments, including ones from.
- Exeter Airport
- Teesside Airport
- The Royal Air Force.
- The US Air Force
Note.
- The involvement of the military.
- At least two of the tugs are conversions of existing equipment.
- The extra weight of the battery in an electric-powered tug, may make the realisation of a viable electric aircraft-tug difficult.
I suspect we’ll see hydrogen-powered aircraft tugs in use on airports around the world in the near future.
Long-Term Car-Park Buses
I would have thought that using hydrogen-powered or battery-electric buses to serve long-term car-parks at an airport would be an obvious application. But it does appear that airports using zero-carbon buses to serve long-term car-parks are not very common.
- Gatwick uses a large fleet of hydrogen buses to bring passengers and staff to the airport, but these don’t appear to be linked to car parking.
- Incheon Airport in Korea does appear to use hydrogen-powered buses.
Please let me know, if you know of any other uses of hydrogen-powered vehicles at airports.
Hydrogen For Heathrow
This Google Map shows Heathrow Airport.
Note.
- The M4 going across the map.
- The two main runways.
- A new third runway would go between the M4 and the Northern runway.
It is likely if the third runway goes ahead, the village of Harmondsworth will be flattened.
It is likely that supplying hydrogen to Heathrow will mean a hydrogen terminal somewhere South of the M4, which could be supplied by rail tankers.
Hydrogen For Gatwick
This Google Map shows Gatwick Airport.
Note.
- The current main runway with the emergency runway to its North.
- Because the runways are too close together they cannot be used simultaneously.
- To create a second runway, the two runways would be moved further apart and the current emergency runway would be enlarged.
- The Brighton Main Line runs North-South past the Eastern end of the main runway.
Gatwick’s expansion plan doesn’t appear to require any properties outside the airport boundaries to be demolished.
This Google Map shows Sussex between Gatwick Airport and Brighton.
Note.
- Gatwick Airport is indicated by the red arrow at the top of the map.
- Gatwick’s runways can be picked out under the red arrow.
- The South Coast is at the bottom of the map.
- The M23 and the Brighton Main Line connect Gatwick Airport and Brighton.
- Shoreham and Brighton are on the South Coast.
- Click the map to show on a larger scale.
Under current plans, the Ramplion offshore wind farm off the South Coast is going to be increased in size to 1.6 GW.
The simplest plan to provide large amounts of green hydrogen to Gatwick would be to build a large electrolyser in the Port of Shoreham and pipe it along the railway to Gatwick Airport. Hydrogen could also be shipped at night into the Airport using rail tankers.
There’s no doubt in my mind, that it will be much easier to supply large quantities of hydrogen to Gatwick, rather than Heathrow.
In 2023, I wrote Discover How Greater Brighton Is Championing The Transition To Hydrogen, which probably indicates that the locals and their politicians, would welcome the investment in hydrogen in their city.
It should also be noted that world class consultants Ricardo, who are very much involved in the development and promotion of hydrogen technology are based in Shoreham.
Liquid hydrogen could also be imported and distributed from the Port of Shoreham.
Brighton could end up as the South of England’s Hydrogen City.
Never Mind Heathrow: Gatwick Airport Is Close To Getting A New Runway
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
A friend passed through at Gatwick Airport yesterday, so I went to wish him well. For a change , I took a Metrobus from Sutton station to the South terminal – This route is free and doesn’t need a ticket with a Freedom Pass!
The bus was no ordinary bus, but a brand new Wrightbus hydrogen double decker from Ballymena.
It took a round-about route, as its main function is to bring local workers and passengers into the airport and handle traffic to Redhilll, Reigate and East Surrey Hospital.
But if this is the shape of buses to come, then I’m for it. Quality was more coach than bus and performance was sparkling with little or no noise and vibration.
Gatwick and Metrobus are building a network of local hydrogen buses to bring workers and passengers into the airport and I suspect, if the Airport has the fuel, they’ll use it for other purposes, like air-side vehicles, aircraft tow-trucks and car park buses.
Gatwick unlike Heathrow has a close-by source of electricity to produce hydrogen in the soon-to-be-extended 1.6 GW Ramplion offshore wind farm, just off Brighton.
Airbus are talking about bringing hydrogen aircraft into service by 2035 and I believe that by this date we’ll be regularly seeing hydrogen-turboprops on short routes.
As someone, whose software planned the Channel Tunnel, I think it reasonable by 2035, the following projects will be completed.
- Zeroavia are talking of converting aircraft to hydrogen in the next few years.
- A number of short-haul hydrogen aircraft are in service.
- Gatwick’s new runway and terminals are built.
- Ramplion is pumping hydrogen to the airport.
- The station has been updated.
- The Thameslink frequency of trains will have been increased.
Gatwick could be the first major airport to use large amounts of hydrogen, to cut emissions.
Thoughts On The Airbus A 390
Ask Google what she knows about the Airbus A 390 and you get this AI Summary.
The Airbus A390 is a three-deck, six-engine aircraft that can carry around 1,000 passengers. It’s based on the A380, but with a third deck and extra engines. The A390 was custom-built for Qantas to fly between Melbourne and New York.
Google got their summary from this page on steemit.
Search for images of the Airbus A 390 and you get several images of this unusual three-deck aircraft, that looks like a widened Airbus A 380 with six engines.
These are some of my thoughts.
Wikipedia Entries
There is no Wikipedia entry for the Airbus A 390.
But.
- There is a Wikipedia entry for the Airbus A 380.
- There is also a Wikipedia entry for the six unusual Airbus Beluga XLs, which are used to transport two pairs of Airbus A 350 wings between factories.
The A 390 is supposedly based on the A 380 and the Beluga XL appears to have a fuselage that is a bit like the Airbus A 390.
Will The Airbus A 390 Fly?
After reading the two Wikipedia entries, I am fairly sure that an Airbus A 390 airliner, as shown in the pictures would be able to fly.
Although, I must say, that I was surprised, at seeing an Airbus Beluga XL on video. This is a Beluga XL landing at Heathrow.
So I think we can say, that Airbus know more than a bit about the aerodynamics of three-deck fuselages.
The Antonov An-225 Mriya
This aircraft designed and built in the Soviet Union , does have a Wikipedia entry.
These three paragraphs from the start of the entry, give some details of this unusual and very large aircraft.
The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. ’dream’ or ‘inspiration’) was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft designed and produced by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union.
It was originally developed during the 1980s as an enlarged derivative of the Antonov An-124 airlifter for transporting Buran spacecraft. On 21 December 1988, the An-225 performed its maiden flight; only one aircraft was ever completed, although a second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built. After a brief period of use in the Soviet space programme, the aircraft was mothballed during the early 1990s. Towards the turn of the century, it was decided to refurbish the An-225 and reintroduce it for commercial operations, carrying oversized payloads for the operator Antonov Airlines. Multiple announcements were made regarding the potential completion of the second airframe, though its construction largely remained on hold due to a lack of funding. By 2009, it had reportedly been brought up to 60–70% completion.
With a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes (705 short tons), the An-225 held several records, including heaviest aircraft ever built and largest wingspan of any operational aircraft. It was commonly used to transport objects once thought impossible to move by air, such as 130-ton generators, wind turbine blades, and diesel locomotives.
This further paragraph described the destruction of the aircraft.
The only completed An-225 was destroyed in the Battle of Antonov Airport in 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced plans to complete the second An-225 to replace the destroyed aircraft.
I feel that the Mriya is significant for the Airbus A 390 for three reasons.
- Mriya was a six-engine heavy-lift cargo aircraft developed from a certified four-engine transport.
- Mriya was starting to make a name for being able to move over-sized cargo around the world.
- Given the parlous state of parts of the world and the ambitions of some of its so-called leaders, I believe, as I suspect others do, that a heavy-lift cargo aircraft is needed for disaster relief.
So are Airbus looking at the possibilities of converting some unwanted A 380 airliners into the heavy-lift aircraft, that they believe the world needs?
- They may even want some for their own purposes.
- Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk may need a heavy-lift aircraft for their space programs.
Converting some unwanted Airbus A 380s into heavy-lift cargo aircraft could be a more affordable route, than designing and building new aircraft from scratch.
Eviation Lays Off Employees And Pauses Development Of Electric-Powered Airplane
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on GeekWire.
These two paragraphs add some detail.
Eviation Aircraft has laid off most of its employees and paused work on its electric-powered Alice airplane, which had its first and only flight test more than two years ago.
In a statement emailed to GeekWire, Eviation CEO Andre Stein said a temporary pause was necessary in order to focus on “identifying the right long-term partnerships to help us make electric commercial regional flight a reality.”
I feel this is a pity, as I feel Alice has a good chance of success with passengers.
It certainly looks like a sleek aeroplane, rather than a collection of parts flying in formation.
But let’s hope that Eviation are able to forge commercial partnerships to make it a success!
Ryanair Flies Into Sahara on Sea (And Africa’s Oldest Conflict)
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Chieftains fighting for a strip of land claimed by Morocco are threatening to step up attacks as the tourist industry grows
These are the first three paragraphs.
Towards the end of the flight on Ryanair’s new route to Dakhla a vast expanse of apparently pristine desert coastline unfurls below.
But this land is nowhere near as tranquil as it looks from above. Instead the Irish airline’s choice of destination has flown the company into the heart of Africa’s longest-running conflict.
These direct flights from Madrid and Lanzarote take its planes to the coastal town in Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain that tribal chieftains and three countries have struggled to control through the centuries.
This is a Google Map showing the location of Western Sahara with respect to the Canary Islands.
Note.
- The islands off the recognisable coast of North West Africa are the Canary Islands.
- Lanzarote is the Southermostof the two North-Eastern islands.
- Western Sahara is to the South-East of the Canary Islands.
- Dakhla is on the Africa coast at the Southern edge of the map.
The map will be enlarged if you click on it.
I have my thoughts on this article.
Western Sahara And Coeliac Disease
I have a feeling that this area has one of the highest levels of coeliac disease in the world.
- It all started some years ago, when they had a terrible famine, so the US donated a lot of wheat to alleviate the famine.
- But the people of Western Sahara don’t grow wheat and their bodily systems can’t cope with gluten.
- This gave the people a lot of coeliac disease, which can be passed on genetically.
A similar process went on during the slave trade, where the slavers fed their captives on bread made from wheat and water. Consequently, many of the slaves suffered from various problems and that could be why many died on the crossing. These days there is coeliac genes among the Caribbean and American black population that has been passed down through the generations.
After their first actions, it only looks like Trummkopf and his sidekick are going to make matters worse, after their destruction of US Aid.
ZeroAvia Receives FAA G-1 For 600kW Electric Propulsion System
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from ZeroAvia.
This is the sub-heading.
Issue paper confirms basis of certification and provides clear pathway to certification of the company’s first commercial product
These are two introductory paragraphs.
ZeroAvia today announced that it has reached consensus on the Certification Basis relating to its 600kW electric propulsion system (EPS) with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), having received a G-1 Issue Paper (stage 2) and formally confirmed agreement with its contents.
The G-1 represents a key milestone on the journey towards final certification of the company’s EPS with the U.S. regulator, and also on its path to certifying its first full hydrogen-electric powertrain (of which the EPS is a core system) with the UK Civil Aviation Authority. The issue paper designates the applicable airworthiness regulations specific for ZeroAvia’s EPS, allowing the company to validate its design requirements.
Zero-carbon aviation just got a little bit closer, as when it is certified, the 600 KW electric propulsion system (EPS) will be able to be retrofitted to aircraft like the Cessna Caravan.
This is a Cessna Grand Caravan, that I flew in on holiday in Kenya.
I can see a lot of zero-carbon Caravans flying around the tropics on hydrogen generated by a nifty piece of hydrogen gubbins powered by the sun.
Especially, as over three thousand have been built.
The Anonymous Widower 