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Amid the airlines’ battle against the spiralling fuel prices, a British academic has suggested ‘flocking’ and mid-air refuelling would be means to save fuel.
Nick Lieven, dean of engineering at Bristol University told the Australia Pacific Aviation Summit that studies have shown the seemingly radical measures could result in energy savings.
Professor Lieven said that cargo aircraft flying in geese-like formation would save 20% in fuel, as the vortex created would enable them to consume less energy.
“Birds are very clever and if you think of the way they fly, the lead bird creates a vortex which then makes it easier for the other birds to fly as well, and they rotate around every so often,” he said.
Professor Lieven added the concept of one-stop long-haul flights was designed for passenger jets and a fuel-efficient alternative could be mid-air refuelling stations or additional stopovers.
“The difficulty is not the in-flight refuelling technology but what happens if you miss the refuelling stop.”
While the technology to implement refuelling and flocking practices was around 20 years away, the radical measures could prove useful if the oil prices continue to soar.
The proposed ideas were criticised by the summit’s executive chairman, Peter Harbison, who argued the multiple stopovers are not practical and aircraft builders are successfully developing fuel-efficient aircraft.
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