Interesting developments in airplane engine efficiency

Macha

Carbon emissions and pollution in transport are notoriously difficult to reduce and as an island nation these sort of developments are even more important:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/20/travelandtransport-rollsroyce

The Guardian has learned that Rolls-Royce recently cleared a major hurdle in testing its new design for a propeller-driven engine, involving a double rotor and new blade shape. Engineers have called Rolls-Royce's design a "tremendously significant" step forward.

The company claims the design could cut an airline's fuel bills and greenhouse gas emissions by 30%. "We're talking about saving $3m or 10,000 tonnes of CO2 per year per aircraft if you introduce an open-rotor on to a 100-200-seater aircraft," said Mark Taylor, an engineer at Rolls-Royce who is leading a project to design the next generation of aircraft engines.

djpbarry

Interesting stuff. I remember flying on an old propeller-powered plane (operated by Air Baltic; no idea what model) from Vilnius to Helsinki a few years ago and I wondered at the time why they were not more popular for short-haul flights. It was an interesting experience!

Having said that, I applied for a job at Rolls-Royce a few years ago and I didn't get it, so obviously, everything they say is tripe.