Boeing flies hydrogen fuel cell plane

Boeing has, for the first time in aviation history, flown a manned airplane powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

The recent milestone is the work of an engineering team at Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BR&TE) in Madrid, with assistance from industry partners in Austria, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Boeing is actively working to develop new technologies for environmentally progressive aerospace products,” said Francisco Escarti, BR&TE’s managing director. “We are proud of our pioneering work during the past five years on the Fuel Cell Demonstrator Airplane project. It is a tangible example of how we are exploring future leaps in environmental performance, as well as a credit to the talents and innovative spirit of our team.”

A two-seat Dimona motor-glider with a 16.3 meter (53.5 foot) wingspan was used as the airframe. Built by Diamond Aircraft Industries of Austria, it was modified by BR&TE to include a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell/lithium-ion battery hybrid system to power an electric motor coupled to a conventional propeller.

Three test flights took place in February and March at the airfield in Ocaña, south of Madrid, operated by the Spanish company SENASA.

During the flights, the pilot of the experimental airplane climbed to an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) above sea level using a combination of battery power and power generated by hydrogen fuel cells. Then, after reaching the cruise altitude and disconnecting the batteries, the pilot flew straight and level at a cruising speed of 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) for approximately 20 minutes on power solely generated by the fuel cells.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts hydrogen directly into electricity and heat with none of the products of combustion such as carbon dioxide. Other than heat, water is its only exhaust.

According to Boeing researchers, PEM fuel cell technology potentially could power small manned and unmanned air vehicles. Over the longer term, solid oxide fuel cells could be applied to secondary power-generating systems, such as auxiliary power units for large commercial airplanes. Boeing does not envision that fuel cells will ever provide primary power for large passenger airplanes, but the company will continue to investigate their potential, as well as other sustainable alternative fuel and energy sources that improve environmental performance.

BR&TE, part of the Boeing Phantom Works advanced R&D unit, has worked closely with Boeing Commercial Airplanes and a network of partners since 2003 to design, assemble and fly the experimental craft.

The group of companies, universities and institutions participating in this project includes:

· Austria – Diamond Aircraft Industries

· France – SAFT France

· Germany – Gore and MT Propeller

· Spain – Adventia, Aerlyper, Air Liquide Spain, Indra, Ingeniería de Instrumentación y Control (IIC), Inventia, SENASA, Swagelok, Técnicas Aeronauticas de Madrid (TAM), Tecnobit, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and the Regional Government of Madrid

· United Kingdom – Intelligent Energy

· United States – UQM Technologies.

Oman Air gives mobiles green light

Oman Air has joined a growing number of Middle East airlines planning to offer OnAir's inflight passenger communications services, which includes mobile phone and BlackBerry usage, as well as Internet access.

From 2009, Oman Air passengers will be able to use their mobile phones and BlackBerry-type devices to send and receive text messages, emails including attachments, and to make and receive mobile phone calls during flights.

They will also be able to use laptops and the seat-back inflight entertainment screen to access the Internet and use webmail and instant messaging. The OnAir service is based on Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband.

OnAir's service will be fitted on the seven new Airbus A330 aircraft to be delivered to Oman Air in 2009. The aircraft will fly on long-haul routes from Oman to both Asia and Europe.

Ziad Karim Al Haremi, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Air, said, "Oman Air has consistently contributed to the technological advance of commercial aviation. We always aim to improve our services and as we introduce our long-haul routes, we are very pleased to be one of the first airlines to offer the full range of passenger communications options."

Mobile OnAir will allow unlimited text messages and emails including attachments to be received and sent, and will allow up to 12 simultaneous voice calls. A central feature of the service is the crew's ability to turn it off at any time, or switch it to 'silent' - text and email only - mode, enabling the airline to customize the services to its passengers' preferences. For example, airlines could turn off the voice element, or even the whole service, during quiet times.