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Researchers from the Cambridge-MIT Institute's Silent Aircraft Initiative are joining forces with Nottingham East Midlands Airport to start work on developing new, quieter arrival procedures for aircraft landing at the airport.
Researchers from the Cambridge-MIT Institute's Silent Aircraft Initiative are joining forces with Nottingham East Midlands Airport to start work on developing new, quieter arrival procedures for aircraft landing at the airport.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will be collaborating with air traffic controllers and the environment office at Nottingham East Midlands Airport, along with National Air Traffic Services (NATS), regulators at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and aircraft operators including easyJet, DHL and Thomsonfly.
The aim is to develop efficient 'Continuous Descent Approach' procedures for the airport which will produce noise reductions for surrounding communities by keeping aircraft higher and at lower thrust for longer than conventional approaches, while also burning less fuel and producing fewer emissions. The procedures will be analysed using Silent Aircraft Initiative computer tools and will be flown in high-fidelity simulators by pilots from the participating airlines with a view to flight tests being conducted at the airport in 2006.
This work is part of the Silent Aircraft Initiative, which was launched by the Cambridge-MIT Institute in November 2003, uniting researchers at Cambridge and MIT to discover ways to reduce aircraft noise. Part of the research is focused on looking at ways in which noise from current in-service aircraft can be reduced. The development of the new arrival procedures at Nottingham East Midlands Airport will incorporate lessons learned by partners in similar development exercises elsewhere. These include the trials of advanced arrival procedures at London Heathrow and Gatwick led by NATS, and trials carried out at Louisville International Airport in Kentucky by MIT, which confirmed the environmental and economic benefits of Continuous Descent Approaches.
Neil Robinson, Nottingham East Midlands Airport Divisional Manager Environment & Safeguarding, says,
We are delighted to be involved in this innovative initiative. Nottingham East Midlands Airport is acutely aware of its responsibility to its neighbours so the potential of this project to significantly reduce noise from arriving aircraft is an exciting prospect.
Tom Reynolds, Silent Aircraft Initiative Operations Team, says:
We are very excited to be collaborating with a large number of project partners at Nottingham East Midlands Airport and to use our analysis tools to help develop new procedures that reduce noise impacts to communities around the airport.
Ian Jopson, National Air Traffic Services ATM Environmental Manager, says,
We are happy to support this initiative to implement quieter, more fuel efficient flight procedures. NATS is committed to ensuring that best practice environmental procedures are employed where possible.
The Civil Aviation Authority says,
The Civil Aviation Authority supports the Silent Aircraft Initiative in investigating ways of reducing the impact from aircraft noise at source in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization's balanced approach to noise management.
Captain Jim Pegram, easyJet Head of Flight Operations, says,
easyJet will be participating in the highly fuel-efficient and low-noise approach trial planned for Nottingham East Midlands Airport, using new Airbus 319s, and is developing flight procedures that will produce similar benefits at all airports served by Europe’s leading low cost airline.
Paul Bishop, Managing Director of DHL Air, comments,
We have worked very closely with Nottingham East Midlands Airport on an ongoing programme to minimise the impact from our operations, and we see involvement with this project as an important contribution to our efforts to manage and minimise our environmental impact.