This was published 2 years ago
France: Giant Airbus A380 superjumbo takes off fuelled by cooking oil
By Alan Granville
The Airbus A380 flight lasted about three hours.Credit: AP
A giant A380 has taken the skies in France with one engine powered by a sustainable cooking oil mix.
The three-hour flight took place on Friday from Blagnac Airport, Toulouse. One of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines on the test flight used Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), making it the third Airbus aircraft to trial the mix after an A350 and an A319neo single-aisle aircraft.
The unblended SAF was provided by a French company, TotalEnergies. Twenty-seven tonnes was used during the flight, which was the first to trial SAF on all phases, from take-off and climb, to cruise and landing.
Airbus, which is hoping to launch the world's first zero-emission aircraft by 2035, said the mix was made from Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids, which are "free of aromatics and sulphur, and primarily consisting of used cooking oil, as well as other waste fats". The company added that it is not mixed with any fossil fuels.
SAF is already used in small amounts in planes but is expensive to produce.
Airbus test pilot, Wolfgang Absmeier, said the flight "met all of our requirements, which will enable us to carry out the next phase of the project consisting of specific engine manoeuvres".
"We didn't notice any difference from a pilot point of view ... It's basically preparing the future for the next generation of aeroplanes, flying with sustainable aviation fuel."
The A380 aircraft, MSN1, will undergo more trials before it will be modified to test Airbus' first propulsion system using hydrogen. The plane will maintain its four conventional turbines, while a fifth engine adapted for hydrogen use will be mounted on the rear fuselage.
The A380 is one of the most beloved aircraft ever built.
At one stage it was seen as the future of aviation. It was state-of-the-art and could carry more than 800 passengers in quiet comfort. But it also proved expensive to run and airlines started to turn increasingly to smaller, more fuel-efficient planes.
In December last year, the final ever A380 superjumbo was handed over to its new owner, Emirates. The aircraft, which is registered as A6-EVS, was the 251st to be made. While production may have halted, the superjumbo will still be a frequent sight in the skies and airports for years to come.
See also: Qantas powers flight with cooking oil in Australian first
See also: Air France plane flies from Paris to Canada using cooking oil
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