Boeing and NASA complete first SAF emission test flight |

Boeing, NASA, and German Aerospace Center DLR have commenced flight tests on Thursday with a MAX 10 and Douglas DC-8 to study the effects of burning sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) on contrail formation and non-carbon emissions. Testing should demonstrate if there are any side effects from using SAF. During the test flight, NASA’s DC-8 Airborne Science Lab was trailing the MAX 10 at some distance and taking measurements from the exhaust gasses. The Boeing was using 100 percent SAF on one CFM LEAP-1B engine and conventional kerosene on the other the check for any differences. The MAX 10 used for the test is the third production aircraft with Line Number 8634 and Manufacturing Serial Number 43510 that is destined for United Airlines once the type has been certified (see main picture by Jennifer Schuld). The aircraft first flew on September 14. For now, the aircraft will be used by Boeing as the second ecoDemonstrator Explorer. The Douglas DC-8-72 first flew as a -62 variant with Alitalia in 1969 and for Braniff ten years later, before being modified to get CFM 56-engines. It has been used by NASA as a science lab and research aircraft since 1986 and arrived from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale in Everett on Tuesday. First flight of over three hours For the first fight on Thursday, the MAX 10 took off from Paine Field at 2:58 pm local time, followed by the DC-8 three minutes later. The aircraft headed South in formation and flew off coast Lincoln City and Newport, where they entered four circuits at FL350 and 370. The MAX then left the formation and returned to Paine Field at 6.16 pm local time after three hours and ten minutes. The DC-8 flew another two shorter circuits before also returning to Everett, where she landed after three hours and 47 minutes at 6:48 pm local time. On Friday, a second sequence was executed, with the two aircraft departing East from Seattle in the direction of Spokane and going back and forth a number of times. The flight lasted some five hours and thirty minutes. A screenshot of Flightradar24, showing the first test flight in progress. In red is the MAX 10, with the DC-8 closely behind. (Flightradar24) The SAF used for the flight tests is provided by World Energy and is produced from a range of sustainable feedstocks, which can be cooking oil, greenstock, or some ten other sources. While SAF should reduce carbon dioxide emissions by some 85 percent as CO2 is recycled and also produces less soot, SAF comes with certain side effects that are not fully understood. For instance, the effect of SAF on contrail formation and the behavior of ice particles within the contrails that are formed in very cold air needs further research. The number and shape of the ice crystals determine the effect of contrails on heat radiation from sun rays. A 2020 study from Manchester Metropolitan University and various research institutes showed that contrails and the formation of cirrus clouds can vary by air temperature, altitude, or the reflection of solar radiation. Contrails can trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. The effects of non-carbon emissions are another issue that needs more clarification. The DC-8 is equipped with sensitive instruments, some of which have been provided by the German agency DLR. The data from measurements will be complemented with data from NASA satellites, which, combined, should result in new predictive models. Boeing and NASA haven’t said how many flights will be executed. Previous tests since 2015 It is not the first time that real-time measurements of emissions and contrail formation have been done. DLR and Airbus have worked together on a number of projects. In 2015, a DLR Falcon test aircraft trailed the A320 Advanced Technology Research Aircraft over southern Germany to take measurements from conventional Jet A-1 fuel and a mix of 48 percent SAF as part of the ECLIF1 program. This was followed up by ECLIF2 in 2018 and eight flights over eastern Germany, with the NASA DC-8 trailing the A320. During two flight campaigns in April and November 2021, an Airbus A350-900 was used to study the effects of pure SAF as part of the ECLIF3 project, in which Airbus, Rolls-Royce, DLR, Neste, the University of Manchester, and the National Research Council of Canada participated. The DLR Falcon trailed the A350 and took measurements from the SAF emissions. For the tests, Neste provided 100 percent SAF made from hydra-processed esters and fatty acids (HEFA). In early 2018, the NASA DC-8 participated in the ECLIF2 test campaign, trailing the Airbus A320 Advanced Technology Research Aircraft over Germany. (DLR) The tests showed that there was a significant reduction in soot particles for 100 percent HEFA, nitrogen oxides (NOX), and CO2 are trace gases, but not of particles. They also demonstrated that the fuel burn using pure SAF was slightly lower. More tests were needed to confirm the results, the participants said back then. Embraer and Pratt & Whitney also worked together on testing pure SAF on the Geared Turbofan, but it is believed that these tests haven’t included the research of emissions and contrail formation. "There's no question that contrail formations contribute to global warming, but we don't know the extent of their impact or the benefit of using SAF to combat these formations," said United Chief Sustainability Officer Lauren Riley in a media statement. "This collaboration between Boeing, NASA, and United has the potential to not only help us better understand contrails but to provide the full scope of what our transition to SAF can provide beyond greenhouse-gas reductions."

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