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Sustainable Aviation pp 277–306Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Sustainable Alternative Air Transport Technologies

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Abstract

A new generation of aviation and aerospace activities is being born before our eyes. Whether their arrival will be welcomed by society at large may depend principally on their perceived contribution to sustainable social and economic development. This paper discusses the emergence of large cargo drones, (hybrid-) electric aircraft, and high-altitude, supersonic flight from a sustainability perspective, specifically examining the applicability of international noise and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission standards to these newcomers on the global stage. As part of this discussion, ICAO’s jurisdictional boundaries with respect to these activities are investigated, leading to the identification of several regulatory gaps and gray areas that will need to be addressed in the near future in order for the global aviation community to avoid being trapped by “law lag.” The paper concludes that, based on current trends, future generations of aspiring air travelers can expect to enjoy air transportation that is simultaneously more integrated, more inclusive and more sustainable than ever before.

The views expressed in this paper are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent those of any business affiliates or clients.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Kurzweil (1999).

  2. 2.

    Some critics of the idea of exponential technological change have dismissed it as a collective “fetish of the second derivative” (Wichmann 2018).

  3. 3.

    ICAO is one of the largest specialized agencies in the United Nations family, with 191 member states and an unparalleled law-making authority over 72% of the earth’s surface.

  4. 4.

    With respect to altitude, this is the case as long as the “machine” in question “can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of the air against the earth’s surface.” Currently, an altitude of 100,000 ft. is considered the physical limit for “air breathing” airplanes. This ties in with a broader and more fundamental debate that has been raging in academic circles for decades regarding the question as to whether aerospace activities should be governed by principles of Air Law or Space Law. The two leading, opposing schools of thought respectively embrace the “spatialist” and the “functionalist” approach to determine applicable law. As neither of these two approaches provides us with an unambiguous framework, some have proposed alternative approaches (Dempsey 2018).

  5. 5.

    Note that these did not fall under ICAO jurisdiction in the first place due to not being civilian aircraft (cf. art. 3a of the Chicago Convention). International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO 2006).

  6. 6.

    P. S. Dempsey (2010) and Jakhu (2011).

  7. 7.

    SARPs are technical specifications adopted by the Council of ICAO in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation in order to achieve “the highest practicable degree of uniformity in regulations, standards, procedures and organization in relation to aircraft, personnel, airways and auxiliary services in all matters in which such uniformity will facilitate and improve air navigation” (ICAO 2006).

  8. 8.

    ICAO (2006, 2007).

  9. 9.

    See, for example, ICAO (2014a).

  10. 10.

    The jump from Chapter 4 to Chapter 14 happened as a result of Chapter 5 being already used for a different standard and the next available Chapter was 14.

  11. 11.

    Volume III grants special treatment to new type aeroplanes with a capacity below 19 seats, which will be covered from 2023.

  12. 12.

    ICAO (2016).

  13. 13.

    Examples of specialized operational requirements include: (a) aeroplanes that are initially certified as civil aeroplanes during the production process but immediately converted to military aeroplanes; (b) a required capacity to carry cargo that is not possible by using less-specialized aeroplanes (e.g., ramped, with back cargo door); (c) a required capacity for very short or vertical takeoffs and landings; (d) a required capacity to conduct scientific, research, or humanitarian missions exclusive of commercial service; or (e) similar factors.

  14. 14.

    Lawson (2017), Consumer Technology Association (CTA 2016), and Segarra (2018).

  15. 15.

    As with many so-called new and advanced technologies, the “drone revolution” we are witnessing is really a continuation of a concept that has been around for a long time. The first successful example of a remotely piloted flight was the de Havilland DH82B Queen Bee, which entered service in Britain in 1935.

  16. 16.

    PwC (2016).

  17. 17.

    In the context of this chapter, cargo drones are distinguished from their smaller cousins, the individual “package delivery drones.”

  18. 18.

    The Yale Tribune (2017).

  19. 19.

    Ledgard (2015).

  20. 20.

    Bekele (2018).

  21. 21.

    Lin (2018).

  22. 22.

    Freeman (2017).

  23. 23.

    University of Twente (2018).

  24. 24.

    ICAO (2011).

  25. 25.

    ICAO (2011).

  26. 26.

    International Air Transport Association (IATA 2018).

  27. 27.

    Airports Council International (ACI 2018).

  28. 28.

    International Transport Forum (ITF 2018).

  29. 29.

    Wei-Haas (2018).

  30. 30.

    Swopes (2017).

  31. 31.

    Airbus (2017).

  32. 32.

    Bradley (2018).

  33. 33.

    Smith (2017).

  34. 34.

    Smout (2017).

  35. 35.

    Bauhaus Luftfahrt (2017).

  36. 36.

    Lilium (2018).

  37. 37.

    Janek (2016).

  38. 38.

    Adams (2017).

  39. 39.

    Weber (2017).

  40. 40.

    Agence France-Presse (2018).

  41. 41.

    Deutsche Welle (2018).

  42. 42.

    Guzhva (2013).

  43. 43.

    Brown (2018).

  44. 44.

    Forsdick (2018).

  45. 45.

    Friedrich (2014).

  46. 46.

    Cummings (2009).

  47. 47.

    Sou (2018).

  48. 48.

    Defined as “the maximum noise level on a line parallel to the runway at a distance of 450 m to the runway centerline”.

  49. 49.

    European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA 2018).

  50. 50.

    Airbus (2017).

  51. 51.

    Applicable to aeroplanes with a passenger seating configuration of 19 or less and a maximum certified takeoff mass of 8618 kg (19,000 lb) or less.

  52. 52.

    The first electric aircraft to receive its airworthiness certification from the FAA was Pipistrel’s Alpha Electro, a 2-seat electric trainer aircraft. It has an all-composite body, electric motor and 20 kWh battery packs and weighs 350 kg with a maximum payload of 200 kg.

  53. 53.

    European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA 2017).

  54. 54.

    Bowler (2018).

  55. 55.

    Gray (2018).

  56. 56.

    Leadbeater (2016).

  57. 57.

    The LTO cycle used by ICAO covers four modes of engine operation, namely idle, approach, climb out, and takeoff, each of which is associated with a specific engine thrust setting and a time in mode.

  58. 58.

    AIN Online (2018).

  59. 59.

    Simple Flying (2019).

  60. 60.

    Bean (2018).

  61. 61.

    Warwick (2012).

  62. 62.

    Matousek (2018).

  63. 63.

    Spike Aerospace (n.d.).

  64. 64.

    Boom Supersonic (n.d.).

  65. 65.

    Adams, The ‘baby boom’ charts a return to supersonic flight (2018).

  66. 66.

    Burgess (2017).

  67. 67.

    Yenko (2018).

  68. 68.

    Perceived Level of Sound (Noisiness or Loudness), or PLdB, is proportional to the peak energy level reaching the ear during a flyover event and is typically used to measure the human reaction to sonic boom levels.

  69. 69.

    Sound Exposure Level (SEL) is the constant sound level that has the same amount of energy in one second as the original noise event. It provides a measure of the physical energy of the noise event which takes into account both intensity and duration.

  70. 70.

    German (2018).

  71. 71.

    Lockheed Martin (2017).

  72. 72.

    A shallow turn increases loudness on the inside of the turn and decreases loudness on the outside.

  73. 73.

    The bypass ratio (BPR) of a turbofan engine is the ratio between the mass flow rate of the bypass stream to the mass flow rate entering the core. High BPR engines tend to be more fuel efficient and less noisy.

  74. 74.

    Boom Supersonic (2017).

  75. 75.

    Although some business jets (e.g., the Gulfstream G450+) fly to 50,000 ft.

  76. 76.

    Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 1999).

  77. 77.

    Wey et al. (2004).

  78. 78.

    Davies (2015).

  79. 79.

    Garcia (2018).

  80. 80.

    Dourado (2017).

  81. 81.

    For hydrocarbons (HC), Carbon monoxide (CO), Oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and black smoke.

  82. 82.

    ICAO (2014b, pp. 2–17).

  83. 83.

    Red (2008).

  84. 84.

    ICSA views on future supersonic transport engines and aircraft (ICSA 2018)

  85. 85.

    Federal Aviation Administration (2019).

  86. 86.

    The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED 1987).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jurist in International Air and Space Law and Independent Consultant, Geneva, Switzerland

    Andreas B. Hardeman

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  1. Andreas B. Hardeman
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Correspondence to Andreas B. Hardeman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Finance, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Thomas Walker

  2. Department of Economics, Management and Business Law, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Angela Stefania Bergantino

  3. Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Northrop Sprung-Much

  4. University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    Luisa Loiacono

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Hardeman, A.B. (2020). Sustainable Alternative Air Transport Technologies. In: Walker, T., Bergantino, A.S., Sprung-Much, N., Loiacono, L. (eds) Sustainable Aviation. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28661-3_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28661-3_14

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28660-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-28661-3

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