Boeing’s EcoDemonstrator Trials Looked to Reduce Noise, Optimize Routes Written 2 October 2020

Aviation International News reports that in early September, The Boeing Company completed flight trials of its ecoDemonstrator. The trials “evaluated the effectiveness of noise-mitigating fairings attached to the 787-10’s Safran landing gear. Further noise testing involved the use of 200 small microphones attached to the left side of the aircraft’s fuselage and 1,000 more listening devices on the ground in Montana.” The tests “also demonstrated a system meant to more accurately guide flights around hazards such as storms, allowing pilots to better plan their routes and more quickly arrive at their destinations.” EcoDemonstrator program manager Doug Christensen explained that the trials also looked at optimizing routing by incorporating “a system called Four-dimensional Trajectory Optimization and the Terminal Area Management System under development at NASA.” The system “uses digital signals via satellites that ground personnel send to the flight deck and provide immediate information that now gets communicated via radio transmission or Acars.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)