The Anonymous Widower

Was The Price Of Fuel A Factor In The Ahmedabad Plane Crash?

I am asking this question, as I know that a prudent airline, is careful where it buys the fuel for its aircraft.

I asked Google, if jet fuel is more expensive at Gatwick or in India and got this reply.

Jet fuel (Jet A-1/AVTUR) is more expensive at Gatwick Airport compared to India. At Gatwick, the price is 906.8 GBP/1000L. While in India, the price varies by location, for example, ₹97,975.72/kl in Delhi. This indicates that Jet A-1/AVTUR costs more at Gatwick than in India.

I suspect, if they can that Air India would prefer to fill up their planes in India.

Consider.

  • The flight that crashed was AI 171.
  • The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8.
  • The Air India flight that crashed was flying direct to Gatwick Airport, which is a great circle distance of 4254.3 miles.
  • Afterwards, it would fly from Gatwick Airport to Goa, which is a great circle distance of 4703.7 miles.
  • Wikipedia gives the range of a Boeing 787-8 as 8410 miles.

As a former private pilot, who did many long flights, if I were Air India, I might use a strategy like this.

  • Fill the plane with as much fuel, as it can carry at Ahmedabad.
  • Fly to Gatwick on an efficient great circle route.
  • Top up the plane, with enough fuel to fly safely to Goa, at Gatwick.

The cost of fuel would be minimised, but it would mean a heavy take-off at Ahmedabad.

The temperature at Ahmedabad yesterday was around the low thirties and as the altitude is only 53 metres, I don’t think it would have been a hot-and-high take-off.

 

June 13, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Centrica And Moog Inc. Agree Major Solar Power Purchase Agreement

The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.

This is the sub-heading.

Centrica Business Solutions has completed a long-term solar power purchase agreement (PPA) with aerospace defence designer and manufacturer, Moog Inc. The solar array will accelerate the decarbonisation of its aerospace manufacturing site in Wolverhampton and help the business achieve its net zero goals.

These three paragraphs introduce the project.

The agreement sees Centrica lease roof space from Moog Inc. to install a 2,200 solar panel array capable of generating circa 1MW. The energy company will finance the project and have agreed on a PPA with Moog Inc. for the renewable electricity generated on site.

Construction is set to complete in the spring and the panels will provide Moog Inc. with 800 MWh of renewable, reliable energy every year for the next 25 years – around 10 per cent of the site’s existing electricity requirements.

This gives Moog Inc. price certainty and access to green electricity without any upfront costs, and it will reduce operational CO2 emissions by 175 tonnes every year.

Note.

  1. The roof is one of Centrica’s biggest roof top solar arrays to date.
  2. It’s the first retrofit on an existing manufacturing plant of a solar array for Moog Inc. and wthe’re looking forward to doing more.

The Wikipedia entry for Moog Inc. starts with this paragraph.

Moog is an American-based designer and manufacturer of electric, electro-hydraulic and hydraulic motion, controls and systems for applications in aerospace, defense, industrial and medical devices. The company operates under four segments: aircraft controls, space and defense controls, industrial controls, and components. Moog is headquartered in Elma, New York and has sales, engineering, and manufacturing facilities in twenty-six countries.

Bill Moog, who founded the company, was a cousin of the guy who invented the Moog synthesizer.

Their products feature on the Airbus A 350, the Boeing 787, the Lockheed Martin F 35 and are used to operate the roofs on Centre Court and Court One at Wimbledon.

Conclusion

We will see a lot more solar installations like these.

I am not sure of the type of solar panels used on Moog’s Wolverhampton factory, but these roofs must be an ideal place to use BIPVco steel solar panels as Network Rail used at Denmark Hill station.

This roof became operational in 2021.

This picture shows a Ventum Dynamics turbine on Skegness Pier.

On the Ventum Dynamics web site, there are several pictures of buildings with flat roofs, that have several turbines on each.

I believe these turbines would fit neatly on some large industrial roofs with solar panels to form an efficient wind/solar application.

March 23, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Sport | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Virgin Atlantic Granted Permit For Historic 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel Flight

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Virgin Atlantic.

These two paragraphs outline the proposed flight.

Virgin Atlantic’s historic 100% sustainable aviation fuel flight has been granted a permit to fly by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Virgin Atlantic plans to fly across the Atlantic from London Heathrow to New York JFK on 28 November 2023 to test and showcase the feasibility of flying on 100% SAF.

Note.

  1. Strangely, I’ve never flown Virgin, although I did once book then to go to Kenya, but as the flight was cancelled at the last minute, I swapped to Kenya Airways.
  2. Virgin have seventeen Rolls-Royce-powered Boeing 787s.

As Branson is involved, I do wonder, if this is more about PR than anything else.

This paragraph talks about sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

SAF is fuel derived from non-petroleum based renewable sources that is capable of being used as a replacement for, or blended with, kerosene. SAF can currently be used in jet engines to a maximum blend of 50% with traditional kerosene without the need for any modifications. There are several processes to produce SAF, including algae, synthesised fuels from hydrogen waste, or from directly capturing carbon dioxide. When fully replacing kerosene, SAF could reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by over 70% compared to conventional fossil jet fuel.

There is nothing specifically said about the fuel, that Virgin Atlantic will use.

I first mentioned this flight in a post in December 2022, which is entitled World’s First Net Zero Transatlantic Flight To Fly From London in 2023, Powered By The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000.

The press release from Rolls-Royce, said that the flight would be this year. So, that appears to be happening.

In fact, it does appear that Rolls-Royce are being thorough with their testing of sustainable aviation fuel, as these posts include both Rolls-Royce and sustainable aviation fuel.

Several are based on Rolls-Royce press releases.

November 6, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rolls-Royce Completes Next Step On Its Journey To Decarbonising Business Aviation

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Rolls-Royce.

 

This is the sub-heading.

Rolls-Royce today announces the successful completion of a series of tests with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on its latest generation of business aviation engines, the Pearl 15 and the Pearl 10X. The Pearl 15, the first member of the Pearl engine family, powers Bombardier’s Global 5500 and 6500 aircraft, while the Pearl 10X will power Dassault’s ultra-long-range flagship aircraft, the Falcon 10X.

These are the websites for the three aircraft, with number of passengers, typical cruise speed and range.

This screenshot from the Dassault Falcon 10X web site shows the range from London.

Note that Buenos Aires,  the Falkland Islands, Seattle, Seoul and Tokyo are all within range.

I have a few thoughts and observations.

Jet A-1 And 100% SAF

This paragraph from the press release describes how Rolls-Royce are testing the compatibility of Jet A-1 and 100% SAF.

As well as proving compatibility with 100% SAF another target of the test campaign was to run a back-to-back engine test with both Jet A-1 and SAF on the same Pearl 10X engine. The aim was to confirm further improvements in the environmental footprint when switching to SAF. The results from this first back-to-back engine emission test under standard certification conditions provides important correlations for the evaluation of future SAF within our environmental strategy.

Compatibility and back-to-back running is surely very important, as it could be many years before all airports can supply 100 % SAF for visiting jet aircraft.

The Fuels Used In The Tests And The Benefits

These two paragraphs from the press release describes the fuels used and the benefits..

The HEFA (Hydro-processed Esters and Fatty Acids) SAF was produced from waste-based sustainable feedstocks such as used cooking oils and waste fat. This fuel has the potential to significantly reduce net CO2 lifecycle emissions by about 80% compared to conventional jet fuel.

The back-to-back tests conducted with conventional fossil-based fuel and subsequently SAF also confirmed a cleaner combustion of the sustainable fuel, with significantly lower levels of non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM). In combination with the low NOx combustor technology of the Pearl 10X and its additive manufactured combustor tiles a reduction of all emissions was achieved.

Note.

  1. An eighty percent reduction in lifecycle emissions is not to be sneezed at.
  2. Cleaner combustion and low NOx emissions are very much bonuses.
  3. Additive manufacture is better known as 3D-printing and I’m not surprised that Rolls-Royce have embraced the technology.

As an engineer and retired light aircraft pilot, I suspect the tests have met Rolls-Royce’s objectives.

Moving To 100 % SAF

This is the final paragraph of the press release.

The tests demonstrated once again that Rolls-Royce’s current engine portfolio for large civil and business jet applications can operate with 100% SAF, laying the groundwork for moving this type of fuel towards certification. At present, SAF is only certified for blends of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel. By the end of 2023 Rolls-Royce will have proven that all its in-production Trent and business aviation engines are compatible with 100% SAF.

It must be a good selling point for aircraft equipped with Rolls-Royce engines, that the buyer knows that the aircraft can run on 100% SAF.

100 % SAF As An Airline Marketing Tool

It will be interesting to see how airlines use 100% SAF to sell tickets.

As an example, I can see routes like London and Scotland becoming very competitive.

  • Avanti  West Coast, LNER and Lumo already run all-electric trains to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
  • The technology exists to decarbonise trains to Aberdeen and Inverness..
  • Other open access operators could well move in to a lucrative market.
  • The only way, that the airlines will be able to compete on emissions, would be to move to 100 % SAF.

There must be hundreds of routes like London and Scotland around the world.

100 % SAF And Business Jets

In A Class 319 Train, But Not As We Know It!, I told this tale.

I am reminded of a tale, that I heard from a former GEC manager.

He was involved in selling one of GEC’s Air Traffic Control radars to a Middle Eastern country.

The only working installation of the radar was at Prestwick in Scotland, so he arranged that the dignitaries and the sales team would be flown to Prestwick in GEC’s HS 125 business jet.

As they disembarked at Prestwick and walked to the terminal, the pilot called the GEC Manager over.

The pilot told him “The Scottish Highlands at this time of the year, are one of the most beautiful places in the world! Would you and your guests like a low-level tour on the way back? I can arrange it, if you say so!”

Despite knowing GEC’s draconian attitude to cost control he said yes.

The sale was clinched!

I also remember an article in Flight International about how JCB sold diggers.

  • Dealers in a country like Greece would put together a party of prospective customers.
  • The customers would then be flown to East Midlands Airport in JCB’s business jet, which is close to the JCB factory at Rocester.
  • After  a sales demonstration and a tour of the factory they would be flown home.

I once met a lady who had been one of JCB’s cabin staff and she told me it was a very successful sales technique.

I suspect that a business jet running on 100 % SAF would be an even better sales aid.

There are also increasing protests from the greens about business jets, which are seen as producing pollution and are only the toys of the rich and powerful.

Surely, if they were running on 100 % SAF, this would make business jets more acceptable.

100 % SAF And Niche Airlines

In the web site for the Falcon 10X, there is a section called Mission Flexibility, where this is said.

As large as it is, the Falcon 10X can still access typical airports serving business aviation as well as others with challenging approaches. The Falcon 10X will be London City-capable so that it can fly you straight into the heart of global finance. When you’re ready for rest and relaxation, the 10X can whisk you to out-of-the-way corners of the world.

British Airways used to run a service between London City Airport and New York.

  •  The route used 32-seat Airbus A-318 airliners.
  • The flight stopped at Shannon for refuelling.
  • It was business class only.

I suspect someone will think about running a similar London City Airport and New York service using a Falcon 10X.

  • It has nineteen seats.
  • It could do it in one hop.
  • It could run on 100 % SAF.
  • British Airways must have all the passenger data from the discontinued service.
  • A Falcon 10X flies higher than a Boeing 767, Boeing 787 or an Airbus A350.

I have a feeling that flight time would be comparable or better to a flight between Heathrow and New York.

Conclusion

Rolls-Royce would appear to have the right strategy.

If I was going to New York in business class, I’d use it.

 

 

 

 

October 23, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

World’s First Net Zero Transatlantic Flight To Fly From London in 2023, Powered By The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Rolls-Royce.

These are the three main bullet points.

  • World first as Virgin Atlantic wins UK government funding to operate historic London – New York flight
  • Rolls-Royce, Boeing, Imperial College London, University of Sheffield, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and ICF also form part of an iconic British-led consortium 
  • Heralds future of low carbon aviation, with the wider sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry potentially creating thousands of UK jobs while supporting delivery of net zero aviation emissions by 2050 

Note.

  1. The flight will take place next year.
  2. The aircraft will be one of Virgin Atlantic’s flagship Boeing 787s, which are powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
  3. When fully replacing kerosene, SAF can slash lifecycle carbon emissions by more than 70% compared to conventional fossil jet fuel.
  4. This flight is expected to be fuelled by SAF made primarily from waste oils and fats, such as used cooking oil.
  5. SAF could create a UK industry with an annual turnover of £2.4bn by 2040, and which supports up to 5,200 UK jobs by 2035.

The flight could be made net zero, if it used 100 % SAF and offset any carbon dioxide produced.

What Is Sustainable Aviation Fuel?

It is also known as Aviation biofuel, which has a comprehensive Wikipedia entry, which has this first paragraph.

An aviation biofuel or bio-jet fuel or bio-aviation fuel (BAF) is a biofuel used to power aircraft and is said to be a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) considers it a key element to reducing the carbon footprint within the environmental impact of aviation. Aviation biofuel could help decarbonize medium- and long-haul air travel generating most emissions, and could extend the life of older aircraft types by lowering their carbon footprint.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) can be made in a variety of ways, which are described in the Wikipedia entry.

Could A Plane Run On Kerosene One Flight And SAF The Next?

I suspect that the practicalities of airline operation and schedules and the production and distribution of aviation fuel, will mean that if an airliner can run on both kerosene and SAF would be a great advantage.

This is a paragraph from the press release.

It comes hot off the heels of the world’s first sustainable fuel military transporter flight using 100% SAF, completed by the RAF last month using the iconic Voyager aircraft.

Note.

  1. The Voyager is an RAF military transport/tanker aircraft based on the Airbus 330 and fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-B-60 engines.
  2. Rolls-Royce Trent engines power both the Dreamliner and the Voyager.
  3. I’m sure that for operational reasons, the RAF would mandate a dual fuel capability.

This press release on the RAF web site, which is entitled Royal Air Force Completes World-First Sustainable Fuel Military Transporter Flight, gives more details of the RAF flight.

December 21, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Will Biofuel Save Jet Aviation?

I ask this question as I have just written a post, which is entitled Grant Shapps Announcement On Friday, where I detail a project called Altalto, which its developers hope will convert waste into aviation biofuel.

But there are other factors at work, that will have effects on passenger flying.

Electric Aircraft

Despite the technological problems electric aircraft, I can see that in a couple of years, an electric plane will be available with the following specification.

  • 9-15 passenger capacity
  • 100-200 mile range
  • Half-hour recharge time

These will improve as technology improves. But then everybody who uses a battery in their product says this.

Lightweight Structures

If you’ve ever looked at a high-performance glider, you’ll see that they are the featherweights of the aviation world and are built mainly from ultra lightweight composites.

Boeing have gone this route with the 787 Dreamliner and the aircraft has been a success.

Unfortunately, Boeing’s accountants have trashed the company, by trying to prolong the life of the obsolete 737 too far, instead of developing a composite replacement.

By the end of this decade all aircraft will be made from lightweight composite structures.

Interstingly, the only all new electric passenger aircraft; the Eviation Alice has a fully-composite airframe.

Lightweight structures will help create lower carbon emissions on traditional aircraft, by reducing fuel burn, but will really help in creating new aircraft types. Some of which will look very unusual.

Better Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics are getting more efficient and this will reduce fuel burn and have two effects on aircraft design.

  • They will make existing designs more efficient.
  • They will improve the design of electric aircraft designed on a clean sheet of paper.

Expect to see some very weird looking aircraft. Look at Eviation Alice, which could evolve into a twenty seat aircraft with a range exceeding six hundred miles.

Hybrid-Powered Aircraft

I can’t with current technology, see an all-electric aircraft powered by batteries having a range greater than perhaps six hundred miles and a capacity of greater than perhaps 20 passengers. The mathematics and the physics say no!

Some aero engine manufacturers are talking about hybrid power, where a small turbofan engine is paired with a battery and electric motors.

I think it could be a way to extend the range of electric aircraft, without creating significant emissions. Aviation biofuel would fit well with a hybrid aviation powerplant, as it would further remove emissions.

Completely Automatic Flight

The pilot of a modern airliner does very little flying and there is no reason, pilots couldn’t do as little to fly the plane, as a driver on a Victoria Line tube has done since 1967 to drive the train.

When a train is ready to depart, the driver presses a button and the train moves automatically to the next station.

If anything unusual happens, the driver takes control.

Why not with airliners?

Point-To-Point Air Services

In MagniX Electric Aircraft Engines Take To The Skies, I put this quote from magniX, who make the electric motors for electric aircraft.

magniX says 45% of all airline flights cover less than 800 km, while 5% of flights are sub-160 km.

These flights will be the first to go electric.

But they are not really suited for an airport like Heathrow or Gatwick, as each plane needs a separate take-off and landing slot to fit in with conventional flights.

Heathrow want a third runway to increase capacity.

Perhaps it should be for electric flights only!

  • Electric aircraft will be low-noise and create no pollution.
  • It would have its own terminal.
  • Charging facilities would be built into the terminal.
  • Taxi distances would be short.
  • The runway would only need to be short.
  • Passengers would have to arrive and leave by zero-carbon transport.
  • There might even be space for two runways; one for landing and one of take-off.

I can see a network of both smaller airports and satellites at major airports developing, that are designed for electric aircraft.

  • Some airports, like possibly London City, might convert to all-electric, due to their sensitive locations.
  • Other important towns and cities without an airport, might develop new all-electric airports.
  • Hubs might develop at convenient locations in the UK, for short trips to the Continent and Ireland. Perhaps a high speed rail-connected Manston Airport would be ideal for electric flights to Belgium, The Netherlands and Northern France.

Frequent point-to-point electric flights could create a zero-carbon short-haul network for flights of up to about six hundred miles.

Rail Journeys Less Than Four Hours

It is accepted by many analysts and rail companies, that if a train takes less than four hours, then it is a viable alternative to flying.

  • Could the success of Eurostar’s London and Amsterdam route, be partly down to the that it’s four hours?
  • First Group subsidiary; East Coast Trains have stated they will target air passengers, with a sub four-hour, one-class £25 train journey between London and Edinburgh.
  • High Speed Two is currently promising three hours and forty minute journeys between London and Edinburgh/Glasgow, when their service starts.

I believe that rail companies all over the world will see tempting air passengers to use rail, as a market to develop.

Zoom And Other Internet Techniques

During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses, families and others have started using Internet conferencing in a big way.

But will other software develop, that will have the effect of both cutting flying or making it more zero-carbon.

Suppose, I wanted to visit several cities in the United States. Is there an Internet site that tells me how to do it to create the least amount of CO2?

Biofuel For Short Flights

When I laid out the factors, I only mentioned aviation biofuels once.

That was in conjunction with hybrid aircraft, that use both jet and electric power.

If the hybrid technology succeeds, it may mean that flights up to about a thousand miles are possible and this would include a lot of short haul flights around the world. With biofuels and hybrid powerplants, carbon dioxide emissions will be greatly reduced and could probably be managed by carbon offset measures like tree-planting.

Biofuel For Long Flights

As aircraft get more efficient using biofuel will help to reduce the amount of emissions, to a level that could be balanced by carbon offset.

This will be an expensive process for airlines, as probably most fleets will need to be replaced with more fuel efficient planes.

But this is happening, as 757s and A380 are being replaced by Dreamliners and other more fuel efficient types.

Conclusion

By 2035, most short haul flights will be electric or some form of hybrid power, although a lot will be replaced by high speed rail.

Biofuel won’t save long-haul flights, but it will make them economic for the airlines.

I suspect that there will be a lot of aluminium aircraft going for scrap.

June 16, 2020 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qantas Completes Test Of Longest Non-Stop Passenger Flight

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the first two paragraphs.

Australian carrier Qantas has completed a test of the longest non-stop commercial passenger flight as part of research on how the journey could affect pilots, crew and passengers.

The Boeing 787-9 with 49 people on board took 19 hours and 16 minutes to fly from New York to Sydney, a 16,200-km (10,066-mile) route.

The article also says that they will be running a test flight between London and Sydney next month.

I can’t help thinking about a joke I first heard in the 1980s.

The United States Secret Service had got hold of a very long range Boeing 747SP and used to put the suspect in the plane and fly them around the world.

As they fed them standard airline food all the way, the suspect always cracked and they got the information they wanted.

October 20, 2019 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 3 Comments