DLR Portal - Progress in aerospace research - quieter flying with less environmental impact

DLR Portal - Progress in aerospace research - quieter flying with less environmental impact

One of the primary objectives of the aviation research team at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt; DLR) is to make flying quieter and to reduce its environmental impact. DLR came a step closer to this goal with the culmination of the FAGI (Future Air Ground Integration) project. In the future, a modified flight approach procedure with improved environmental credentials should help cut noise levels and save fuel.

A noise reduction of between three and five decibels and fuel savings of up to 500 kilograms per landing can be achieved, provided that pilots have access to an environment-friendly approach path during landing. In approaches of this kind, known as CDAs (Continuous Descent Approaches), the aircraft descends continuously - much like a glider – from its cruising altitude to final approach without interrupting its descent profile or applying more thrust. The pilot leaves the engines idle throughout the descent and only increases thrust slightly just before landing so that landing can be aborted if necessary. "This procedure demands a lot from the aircraft's systems because it must take important parameters such as flight pattern, altitude, airspeed and weather conditions into account," explains Alexander Kuenz, Project Manager at DLR's Institute of Flight Guidance in Braunschweig.