2011 Volume 6 Issue 3 Pages 579-594
A study on the environmental impact and fuel consumption of a long haul aircraft has been performed. Target of the study is to investigate the beneficial effect of refueling in long range flights, in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, while taking into account the adverse effect on flight duration. This has been achieved using the ‘Hermes’ aircraft performance model, developed at Cranfield University. In a further step, a parametric study has been performed in order to take into account non ideal conditions, where the refueling station is positioned further than mid-distance and extra range is required to be flown. Such data can be useful for scheduling real-life missions featuring refueling stops. The results show that the viability limit is affected by both type of the aircraft and payload, while a minimum range exists, under which the beneficial effect of refueling diminishes.
