| The Engine's Out! On Purpose! |
| Written by Dave Burdick | ||
| Wednesday, 11 April 2007 | ||
EcoGeek is willing to try a lot of weird stuff to cut back on use of various resources. But it's with mixed glee that we announce this next particular advancement--mixed because it sounds like a great idea, but EcoGeek's going to wait to see it work a few times before participating: planes in New Zealand will now be cutting the engine before landing because, hey, who needs to accelerate when you've got gravity on your side? OK, so the engines won't be totally cut--they'll be idling--but the point is that the planes will be saving on energy and cutting back on emissions a bit. When you think about all the commercial flights in and out of any given airport on any given day, any small saving on each flight could really stack up. According to The Age, it sounds like the most difficult part is actually changing the amount of time and space between planes landing, rather than any mechanical adjustments to the fuel-light landing.
Comments
(5)
Could be dangerous
written by Amir , April 13, 2007
If America adopts this then,..
written by sdfsdfs , April 13, 2007
given their history of air crashes by STUPID pilots and ground controllers, your in for a deathmatch.
Why not save when moving around the runw
written by S Donham , April 14, 2007
It seems to me that I spend far more time, rolling around the runway, either waiting to take off or waiting for a gate to open up. Instead of using the plane's jets for mobility, why not use something similar to those trucks that push the plane away from the gate? Use these small trucks to pull the plane to runway, use them to bring them to the gate.
I'm sure that it would tons of fuel if planes were not idling for 40 minutes before takeoff and using their full to push themselves around the runway.
I can't see this taking off
written by dfsdefds , April 14, 2007
Nuff said
I would not want to fly
written by michael , April 17, 2007
in a plane piloted by someone willing to go along with this insanity.
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Almost all jet engines take about 10 seconds to speed up from "Idle" to "Full" power. Most airliners land at an average speed of 110 knots. if it takes 10 seconds for the engines to speed up, and another 10 to 20 seconds for the aircraft to speed up and create lift, that is almost 30 seconds. The distance traveled over or close to the runway in that time period could cause a major accident. Even aircraft manuals indicate minimum engine power for landing. And since the North American aviation regulations are closely tied to these laws of physics, I don't see the same situation happening in North America. That is unless the manufacturers make new engines (they are in the process to) that have faster response time.