FUEL HEDGING

Fuel hedging is a contractual tool used by some airlines to stabilize jet fuel costs. A fuel hedge contract commits an airline to paying a pre-determined price for future jet fuel purchases. Airlines enter into such contracts as a bet that future jet fuel prices will be higher than current prices or to reduce the turbulence of confronting future expenses of unknown size. If the price of jet fuel falls and the airline hedged for a higher price, the airline will be forced to pay an above-market rate for jet fuel.(Wikipedia)

PERFORMANCE BASED NAVIGATION (PBN)

What is Performance Based Navigation(PBN) ?

Simply put, PBN means NO MORE GROUND AIDS based navigation.

PBN technology allows aircraft to fly precisely-defined flight paths without relying on ground-based radio-navigation signals. Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures, an advanced form of PBN technology, can be designed to shorten the distance an aircraft has to fly en-route, and to reduce fuel burn, exhaust emissions and noise pollution in communities near airports. Because of RNP's precision and reliability, the technology can help air traffic controllers reduce flight delays and alleviate air traffic congestion.

AIRCRAFT END-OF-LIFE

Where do aircraft go when they die? The global aviation sector is expanding at a rapid pace and by 2050; the industry could be handling some 16 billion travellers and 400 million tons of cargo annually. At some stage, maintenance, repair and upgrading become uneconomic and at this point the owner will consider taking the aircraft out of service. It is estimated that over 9,700 aircraft are to be permanently retired or withdrawn from service over the next 20 years. In many cases the retired airframe will contain valuable components and parts that can be returned to 
service.

COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN AIRCRAFT

B787 Fuselage section

Composite materials have been used in aviation and aircraft manufacturing for decades. There were used in civil and military aircraft primarily on secondary surfaces. What exactly are composite materials??

A380 SUPER AND WAKE TURBULENCE

Airbus.com

Wake turbulence is turbulence that forms behind an aircraft as it passes through the air. Wingtip vortices occur when a wing is generating lift. Wake turbulence exists in the vortex flow behind the wing. The strength of wingtip vortices is determined primarily by the weight and airspeed of the aircraft.Wingtip vortices make up the primary and most dangerous component of wake turbulence. This is the reason the separation criteria had to be written out for A380.