Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Bjorn’s Corner: The challenges of Hydrogen. Part 4. Hydrogen safety.
By Bjorn Fehrm
August 14, 2020, ©. Leeham News: In our series on hydrogen as an energy store for airliners we are closing in on the design problems for a hydrogen-fueled airliner.
One of the aspects we must understand before discussion aircraft solutions are the safety aspects of hydrogen as a fuel in aircraft. Another is the requirements for the storage of liquid hydrogen, LH2.
Figure 1. The Hindenburg disaster at Lakehurst in May 1937. Source: Wikipedia.
Bjorn’s Corner: The challenges of Hydrogen. Part 3. Application space.
By Bjorn Fehrm
August 7, 2020, ©. Leeham News: In our series on Hydrogen as an energy store for airliners we now look at the emission targets one is chasing and then discuss for what type of airliner does a hydrogen propulsion system make sense.
The CO2 emission target as expressed by Air Transport Target Group (ATAG) is shown in Figure 1. The graph is from the EU report on Hydrogen Powered Aviation.
Figure 1. The development of CO2 from aviation and the ATAG 2050 target. Source: EU Hydrogen Powered Aviation report.
Bjorn’s Corner: The challenges of Hydrogen. Part 1. Background.
By Bjorn Fehrm
July 24, 2020, ©. Leeham News: What a difference three months make!
When I wrapped the 20 piece Corner series about e in ePlane not standing for electric, on the first of May, I was virtually alone in saying hydrogen is the best long term alternative to our airliners’ jet fuel.
Today it’s all about hydrogen, especially if you ask industry and authorities in Europe. What happened?
Figure 1. The Russian Tu-155 hydrogen fuel research aircraft that flew in 1988. Source: Tupolev.
Bjorn’s Corner: Do I get COVID in airline cabins? Part 11. Wrapup.
By Bjorn Fehrm
July 18, 2020, ©. Leeham News: It’s time to wrap our Corner series about flying during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We started the series on the 8th of May. A lot of knowledge has been gained since, about COVID-19 in general and when taking a scheduled flight.
Figure 1. The difference of coughing without and with a mask. Source: Simulations by Florida Atlantic University, composited and annotated by LNA.
Bjorn’s Corner: Do I get COVID in airline cabins? Part 10. Trans-Atlantic trip.
By Vincent Valery
July 10th, 2020, © Leeham News: In our Corner series about flying during the COVID-19 pandemic, we look at a trip undertaken last week by a member of the LNA team, Vincent Valery. Vincent, who flew from New York to visit family in France close to Geneva, writes this post.
On the flight over the Atlantic in Economy. Source: All photos LNA.
Bjorn’s Corner: Do I get COVID in airline cabins? Part 9. Stay hydrated.
By Bjorn Fehrm
July 3, 2020, ©. Leeham News: In our Corner series about flying during the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine how cabin humidity affects the risks of getting COVID-19.
The extensive research around the seasonality of flu infections gives us tips for our behavior during flights, now and when the pandemic has left us.
Figure 1. The air conditioning system of an airliner. Source: Leeham Co.
Bjorn’s Corner: Do I get COVID in airline cabins? Part 8. Boarding and deboarding.
June 26, 2020, ©. Leeham News: In our Corner series about flying during the COVID-19 pandemic, we look closer at the boarding and deboarding part.
We have identified it as possibly the most troublesome part of a flight during the COVID pandemic. We look at the findings from simulations by boarding/deboarding experts.
Figure 1. Deboarding of a single-aisle airliner. Source: The Conversation
Bjorn’s Corner: Do I get COVID in airline cabins? Part 7. Effects of prevention.
By Bjorn Fehrm
June 19, 2020, ©. Leeham News: In our Corner series about flying during the COVID-19 pandemic, we look at opening up traveling and how re-emerging infection clusters can be handled.
With a four-month pandemic history, several studies now detail what effects different prevention actions have. Once the general spreading of the virus is under control in a country, authorities can then use these tools to engage in point actions rather than general lockdowns.
Figure 1. The EU travel app. Source: European Union.
Bjorn’s Corner: Do I get COVID in airline cabins? Part 5. Risk of spread.
By Bjorn Fehrm
June 5, 2020, ©. Leeham News: In our Corner series about flying during the COVID-19 pandemic, we dig deeper into how the virus spreads.
In the last Corner, I wrote, “Recent research points to SARS-CoV-2 spreading over droplets rather than aerosols.” I later modified it to “spreading more over droplets than aerosols.”
Let’s dig into what I tried to say and why I changed the sentence.
Figure 1. The spreading of droplets when coughing.
Bjorn’s Corner: Do I get COVID in airline cabins? Part 4.
By Bjorn Fehrm
May 29, 2020, ©. Leeham News: In our Corner series about flying during the COVID-19 pandemic, we go deeper into the cabin airflow and procedures around the flight.
The riskiest phase of the flight is not when you sit down. The cabin airflow then transports the viruses away from your breathing. It’s the phases before and after the flight that are the danger zones.
Figure 1. The airflow in a passenger jet. Source: Leeham Co.