Air New Zealand and Partners Ready for Biofuel Test Flight

The world's first commercial aviation test flight powered by a sustainable second-generation biofuel is ready to go next Tuesday, 30 December 2008.

The following senior representatives from partners Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Honeywell’s UOP will be at the event to detail their involvement in the project:

Billy Glover, Managing Director – Environmental Strategy

Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Billy Glover leads an enterprise-wide team responsible for developing and implementing a global environmental strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. His team are addressing key issues facing the aviation industry including aircraft noise reduction, greenhouse gas emissions, alternative fuels research, public policy and opinion, as well as providing input on key product design elements for maximising the environmental performance of Boeing aircraft.

Billy joined Boeing in 1978 and has held roles including derivative product development for Commercial Airplanes, various engineering assignments with the company involving 707, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 airplanes, as well as product development, research programs, and government and commercial contracts.

Chris Lewis, Company Specialist – Fuels
Rolls-Royce plc

Chris Lewis has responsibility for issues relating to Aviation, Marine and Energy Liquid Gas Turbine Fuels including defining and implementing fuel technology acquisition, support to advanced projects and support to engines through development, certification and in-service diagnostics.

Chris has played a leading role in many important industry initiatives including the approval of semi and now fully synthetic coal derived aviation fuel. Chris is currently the technical fuels expert lead on the many alternative and sustainable fuels initiatives both within Rolls-Royce and with key industry partners.

Jennifer Holmgren, General Manager of Renewable Energy and Chemicals

UOP LLC, a Honeywell Company

Jennifer and her team develop and license technologies that utilise renewable resources to fuel and petrochemical producers. Previous roles and assignments include UOP Director of Exploratory and Fundamental Research and research positions responsible for the preparation and characterisation of novel zeolites, molecular sieves and layered materials as well as the establishment of infrastructure necessary to develop fundamental mechanistic understanding in UOP’s core areas.

Jennifer currently serves on multiple external advisory boards and is the author or co-author of 50 US patents and 20 scientific publications.

Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe and Chief Pilot Captain David Morgan will detail the test flight and explain Air New Zealand’s environmental sustainability efforts.

The approximately two-hour test flight is scheduled to take off from Auckland airport on Tuesday morning 30 December, with a biofuel blend of 50:50 jatropha and Jet A1 fuel powering one of the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400's Rolls-Royce RB211 engines.

Pilot in command, Air New Zealand 747 Fleet Manager Captain Keith Pattie and his crew will operate the flight predominantly out over the wider Hauraki Gulf area. During this time they will undertake a number of fuel tests confirming and measuring the performance of the engine and fuel systems at various altitudes and under a variety of operating conditions.

The test flight is a joint initiative between Air New Zealand, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Honeywell’s UOP, with support from Terasol Energy, as part of commercial aviation's drive for more sustainable air travel for future generations.