NASA and DLR plan joint research flights to test alternative jet fuels
24 January 2014
Coming together within IFAR, the International Forum of Aviation Research, the US space agency NASA and Germany’s DLR are planning their first joint research flights to investigate alternative fuels.
A two-week campaign in May 2014 based at Edwards Air Force Base in California will enable the scientists to test how engines operate with various biofuel compositions.
The DLR contribution to this German-American project is research aircraft Falcon, designed to measure changes in emissions and contrail properties when using alternative fuels in-flight.
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| DLR’s Falcon. Click to enlarge. |
NASA is modifying a DC-8 to enable one of the four engines to burn alternative, synthetic fuels during flight tests. The coming years are likely to see additional cooperation with NASA in the field of alternative fuels as part of the new DLR project ECLIF (Emissions and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels).
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