Today, we have news of a number of different projects underway encompassing many parts of the aviation industry, across a number of countries. I decided to put them all into one post, because this really illustrates the coordinated and cooperative nature of aviation – we work best when we work together, both on a day-to-day basis in order to move millions of passengers, as well as on a research, development and strategic level.

The image above is one of a number of concept aircraft that has recently been revealed from a NASA-funded programme being led by the whizz-kids at MIT. The team, which also includes Boeing’s enticingly-named Phantom Works group, Pratt & Whitney, Aerodyne Research and Aurora Flight Sciences has been tasked with producing a plane for 2030 that is quieter, more energy efficient and greener. Given that our industry has a record of coming up with catchy names for new designs (the jumbo, the guppy, the super-jumbo), what are some appropriate nicknames for this particular aircraft? Post your thoughts in the comments form and the response with most creative name will receive an enviro.aero USB memory stick…

Of course, technology is just one of the four pillars the industry is working on for a greener future. Improved operations and more efficient infrastructure are two other areas. A programme conclusively demonstrating how cooperation among all industry partners and utilisation of technology, operational and infrastructure efficiencies can help achieve our goals is the ASPIRE project underway across the Pacific. Three demonstration flights are being held this year to show what is possible. Air New Zealand and Qantas have already undertaken flights and this Friday, a United Airlines 747 service from Sydney to Los Angeles will perform another so-called ‘perfect flight’.

Once Friday’s demonstration flight is complete, it will be up to the airlines, airports and air navigation services involved to incorporate these techniques in everyday operations. In essence: try as much as possible to make every flight across the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean a perfect flight.

Following on from previous blog posts, Air New Zealand and Boeing have announced the date for the next major biofuel test flight. A 50:50 blend of biofuel made from the Jatropha plant and normal Jet-A1 fuel will be used in one engine of a Boeing 747 on 3 December. The aircraft will take off from my old place of work, Auckland Airport and spend some time in the air perfoming various test manouvers, before landing at Auckland again. These test flights are an important part of the ongoing process by airlines, manufacturers and biofuel suppliers to develop a sustainable biofuel suitable for use in flight.

And of interest is this Scientific American article which explores the FAA-funded research project into a new satellite-based system that will help aircraft land more accurately in low visibility or at airports with difficult approaches. While this is a major safety initiative, it also has some very positive environmental knock-on effects. Smoother landings that can be planned and executed more efficiently will also reduce emissions and noise.

Airports should not be forgotten, with BusinessGreen profiling just a few of the many innovations being incorporated into new airport terminals. One example cited includes a new Japanese airport which plans to cool the temperature in its terminal during the summer by using snow stored from the winter. Would it be too cheesy to say this was "a really cool idea"? Probably.

- Image from Aurora Flight Sciences, via MIT’s News Office