The Air New Zealand biofuel test flight went very well, by all accounts. The Jatropha-derived fuel performed as well as the normal Jet-A1 fuel in the other three engines of the Boeing 747-400. There will now be some further on-the-ground tests to be completed in Auckland before the second-generation biofuel is taken for even more [...]

The pre-flight briefing has just taken place at Auckland Airport, with Captain Dave Morgan going through some of the key stages of the test flight. One interesting point he made was that the Boeing 747-400 being used for today’s test has had to be taken off the New Zealand aircraft registry and re-classified an ‘experimental’ [...]

It is around an hour and a half until the Air New Zealand 747-400 takes off from the main runway at Auckland Airport on a flight powered, in part, by the oil from the plant Jatropha. So what exactly is Jatropha? Well, Jatropha is actually a species of around 175 types of plants, shrubs and [...]

In a traditionally quiet business week of the year, a group of engineers, pilots, flight specialists and aviation executives are currently getting ready for an exciting day. At 1130 New Zealand time tomorrow (2230 GMT / 1730 Eastern on 29 December), an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 will take off from Auckland on a two [...]

Interesting news in today’s Guardian, as Rolls-Royce give us a glimpse of the work underway on the next generation of turboprop aircraft engines. They will reportedly be up to 30% more fuel-efficient than current jet aircraft powerplants and, importantly, just as quiet. Behind the scenes, work is believed to be underway from Pratt & Whitney, [...]