CRI听力:Paris Air Show 2011

The 49th International Paris Air Show is being held this month at Le Bourget France. Bio fuel is just one of the many green technologies to be showcase at this year's show as well as an experimental hybrid prototype of the half helicopter/half plane Eurocopter.

Let's take a closer look with our reporter Li Dong.

The plane 'Gulfstream G450' has just completed a landmark voyage which could pave the way for more sustainable air travel.
 
It has completed the first transatlantic flight to be powered 50 percent in one engine by aviation bio fuel.

The plane itself did not undergo any special modifications to use bio fuel, which is harvested from the camelina crop.

The designer's of the G450, Honeywell, hail it as an energy crop that is non-edible and does not divert from the food crop because it grows on marginal land and grows in rotation with wheat acreage.

Jim Rekoske, Honeywell's Vice President and General Manager of Renewable Energy and Chemicals says this flight has heralded a successful journey towards discovering alternative energy sources that help reduce carbon emissions.

"This particular flight here today lowered its carbon footprint by 5.5 (metric) tons of carbon dioxide emissions on the way over from the United States. If you extrapolate that into use, even just a ten percent use, in commercial aviation it would lead to a reduction of more than fifteen million tons of C02 by using Honeywell's Green Jet Fuel. It is a substantial impact on the environment and something that we are very proud to be a part of."

At the other end of the spectrum in alternative energy sources is Solar Impulse, considered to be one of the stars of the Bourget show. Its founders call it the 'zero fuel aeroplane' - since it is powered entirely by solar energy.

The most notable thing about the plane is its massive wingspan - more than 63 meters - that of an Airbus A340. But the plane itself only weighs as much as a family car.

The surface of the wings are embedded with more than ten thousand solar cells that capture the sun's energy - it uses some of this energy to maintain flight and stores the rest to power night flying.

Andre Borschberg is Solar Impulse's CEO and pilot

"When I fly from Brussels to Paris for example, the average power I use is the power of a scooter, of a small motorcycle. So that's what we need to fly. We collect enough energy during the day. One third is used for flying. One third is used to climb to eight, nine thousand meters, and one third goes to the batteries to be able to go through the night."

Another design hitting this year's show in the new X3 AKA the X Cube, hybrid helicopter. A challenge faced by engineers for decades is how to make a helicopter fly more quickly but maintaining its supreme maneuverability. The X3 may be the answer.

The hybrid chopper uses front-facing propellers attached to fixed wings like traditional planes, making the best of both worlds.

The X3 targets a market where speed and response times, are crucial, like Search And Rescue operations. Offshore drilling platforms could also be a target, when the rigs are a long way from shore.

Herve Jammayrac is The X3's pilot

"This aircraft is different from a conventional helicopter, in that it has a very large climbing performance and higher speeds, so we are just expanding the normal flight envelope of a conventional helicopter."

The 49th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget runs from June 20 to 26.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.