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Planes could fly together in V-shaped flocks to save fuel and cut down on emissions amid growing 'flight shame' over their environmental impact
Daily Mail (UK) ^ | 20:59 EST, 3 January 2020 | Jack Newman

Posted on 01/04/2020 12:35:32 AM PST by Olog-hai

Planes could soon by flying in V-shape formations like migrating birds in a bid to save fuel and emissions.

Airbus says flight technology is now mature enough to use the formation which would allow aircraft to effectively ride on the coattails of each other.

The tactic is often seen in cycling, where racers “draft” behind leaders of the racing peloton, following in their slipstream.

Within six months, two A350 planes will make a long-haul formation flight to prove the so-called “wake energy retrieval” can be accomplished, according to The Times.

Then early in 2021, an airline will pair two jets, with the second flying nearly two miles from the first, on a transatlantic passenger route.

Within five years, airlines will be encouraged to use the formation in a bid to save up to 10 percent of fuel, lowering costs, as well as lowering carbon emissions. …

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Travel; Weather
KEYWORDS: airbus; climatechangehoax; flightshaming; globalwarminghoax
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1 posted on 01/04/2020 12:35:32 AM PST by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

More Millennial engineering ideas that make carpenters curse the thinner nail and busted fingers.


2 posted on 01/04/2020 12:39:04 AM PST by knarf (I say things that are true.... I have no proof, but they're true.)
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To: Olog-hai

Who doesn’t love a good concept.


3 posted on 01/04/2020 12:41:10 AM PST by heshtesh
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To: Olog-hai

It’s about safety.....FIRST.


4 posted on 01/04/2020 12:46:33 AM PST by Sacajaweau
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To: Sacajaweau

Yep. There are at least a couple of very, very good reasons civilian aircraft don’t fly formations.

1) It’s dangerous. There is absolutely no reason to be that close to another aircraft increasing the odds accidental collision.

2) You start risking destabilizing the following aircraft due to wake turbulence. Sure, if you are talking about two large passenger aircraft the one in the back “probably” won’t get flipped over or anything but... things happen. You don’t go looking for ways to mess up the wing’s function and a stable flight envelope in the name of saving a few gallons of gas.

We take commercial air travel for granted on a massive scale. It’s as safe as it is exactly BECAUSE every little thing the aviation industry does for safety all add up to one very safe overall experience.

Start taking away a few here and a few there and soon the accident rate will go up.


5 posted on 01/04/2020 1:09:38 AM PST by Advil000
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To: Olog-hai

That policy will change right after the fist mid flight collision, which may not take long. Airline pilots aren’t necessarily the best ones, and tend to rely too much on automation.


6 posted on 01/04/2020 1:17:06 AM PST by Telepathic Intruder
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To: Advil000

Planes fly 1 mile horizontal and 1000 feet vertical for a reason and it is the law. Two or three jets flying a formation would have to be closely computer controlled. Passenger jets would not be safe. Freight jets would be a different story. When jumbo jets started flying some small planes were knocked out of the sky by turbulence. Think what turbulence a formation of these guys would cause.


7 posted on 01/04/2020 1:19:58 AM PST by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: Olog-hai

I thought this was satire! If it isn’t, we’re dealing with mentally disturbed people here.

What difference does it make? We’ve only got 11 years left. Geez.


8 posted on 01/04/2020 1:38:00 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: Advil000

Not to mention the cluster-”blank” when both planes land at their destination.


9 posted on 01/04/2020 1:54:47 AM PST by Amberdawn (Want To Honor Our Troops? Then Be A Citizen Worth Fighting For.)
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To: Olog-hai

Although airplanes flying in V-shape formations does make for close grouping of bombs on the ground, especially if no one is shooting at them as they are dropping the bombs.

I think the millennials have ‘bombed’ on this idea.


10 posted on 01/04/2020 1:57:17 AM PST by GreyFriar (Spearhead - 3rd Armored Division 75-78 & 83-87)
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To: mountainlion
https://thepointsguy.com/news/wake-turbulence-why-pilots-stay-far-behind-the-big-jets/

“As a general rule, narrow-bodied airliners like the Boeing 737 or A320 have to leave a one-minute gap between each other or a two minute gap if following a wide-bodied airliner,” Brady said.

Is a two minute gap between flights able to provide any lift benefit at all? Especially at a mile every 6 seconds?

Will it be safe to operate at 12 second intervals?

Note that the FAA classifies the A380 in a new turbulence category "Super" along with the AN-225.

11 posted on 01/04/2020 2:01:11 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: mountainlion

Also how many planes are going the same direction at the same time? Atlanta is one of the busiest airports. So you’ve got one taking off for New York, then a few minutes later Chicago, a few minutes later, LAX, and then say Miami.


12 posted on 01/04/2020 2:04:06 AM PST by scrabblehack
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To: Olog-hai

“We just flew through his jetwash!”
Beep beep beep


13 posted on 01/04/2020 2:14:25 AM PST by Pocketdoor
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To: Olog-hai
How much fuel will be waisted having the first, second, third and on planes loiter over an area, waiting for the final plane in a formation to get to altitudes and position?

All that fuel spent, flying in circles...

14 posted on 01/04/2020 2:16:00 AM PST by bayliving
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To: mountainlion
Two or three jets flying a formation would have to be closely computer controlled.

Really. Then how has the air armed forces gotten away with it since the byplane? Hmmmmm?

15 posted on 01/04/2020 2:56:37 AM PST by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT!)
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To: texas booster
Is a two minute gap between flights able to provide any lift benefit at all? Especially at a mile every 6 seconds?

We never used time differences. We used distance separation. At the time, for a smaller aircraft, like a KC-135, it was 6 miles behind a jumbo, for the FAA, but for the USAF, it was 10 miles. It did not apply for a C-141 behind a C-5. In that case, we ran them close. 😁

16 posted on 01/04/2020 3:06:23 AM PST by Mark17 (Father of Air Force Officer in pilot training. Air Force aircraft, go much faster than Army tanks)
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To: Olog-hai

Coordinating the departure time of several, full planes... what could go wrong?

As if flight delays for passengers aren’t already bad enough!!


17 posted on 01/04/2020 3:29:33 AM PST by 4Liberty (Impeached, for a retort about Rosie's unhealthy weight. Why not for Obama's "Special Olympics" slur?)
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To: Olog-hai

This will save energy, 99% of the time, and perhaps a little more. What could go wrong with 100,000 commercial flights per day?


18 posted on 01/04/2020 3:46:40 AM PST by Pollster1 ("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
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To: scrabblehack
Lefty: 'It will be dead easy to line all these planes up in formation!'


19 posted on 01/04/2020 4:01:57 AM PST by relictele
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To: Olog-hai

WOW - what a stupid idea...


20 posted on 01/04/2020 4:06:20 AM PST by GOPJ (If Iran retaliates Trump's gonna put them OUT of the oil business...)
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