NRC’s CT-133 research aircraft exits the hangar for a morning of final prep and fueling for flights later in the day. Image Credit: NASA / Peter Merlin
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) has signed a collaborative agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to study the atmospheric effects of emissions from jet engines burning alternative fuels. With this cooperative work, NRC will take part in NASA’s ACCESS II project, the alternative fuel effects on contrails and cruise emissions.
The ACCESS-II experiments have already commenced at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, CA. Testing involved the deployment of NRC’s CT-133 aircraft to Palmdale, CA, to fly alongside aircrafts from NASA and the German Aerospace Center. The objective of the experiments is to obtain inflight airborne emission measurements and contrail characteristics from aircraft burning both conventional jet fuel and blended alternative fuels. The collaboration on ACCESSII will result in the collection of complementary and unique flight test data that will be shared and reported to the International Forum for Aviation Research.
This important research will aid in the qualification and ready acceptance of the use of biofuels in aviation and open the door to future collaborations on alternative fuels tests.
