Page 17 - AAA NOV / DEC 2024 Digital Magazine | GBP

developed the DC-3 which also JetZero co-founder and CEO Tony projected 50% cut in fuel con-
revolutionised air travel.
A quick glance and you will miss it
but taking a second and third look
are airlines for the possibilities of
this aircraft are enormous in the
quest for Net Zero emissions by
2050.
JetZero has taken over the
Gulfstream facility at Long Beach
Airport and has both the mock-up
and the iron bird on display. One
senses JetZero is going to be the
SpaceX of commercial and mili-
tary aviation. Everything about the hardly changed the configu-
operation speaks to professional-
ism and polish.
JetZero has emerged as a major
player with a replacement for the
240-300 seat Boeing 767, 757
and A300 market with its Z-5
passenger variant to capture the
so-called middle of the market.
The concept, uses the same
baseline BWB configuration for
an advanced tanker-transport for
the U.S. Air Force in a multi-role
demonstrator reminiscent of the
Boeing 367-80 which in the 1950s
led to the development of the 707
airliner and KC-135 tanker.
The BWB concept blends the air-
frame structure and aerodynamics
to reduce weight and drag while
enabling the fuselage to contribute
to lift.
ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE
O’Leary tells AAA that “climate is sumption to open the doors of
a great concern and the indus-
try has huge issues with fuel
burn and razor-thin margins.
And that is just the tip of the
iceberg. There are so many
issues to address and we are
fundamentally, not getting a
better solution.”
Mr O’Leary says the JetZero
Z-5 airframe solves all those
problems. “It’s simple and
straightforward when we have
ration since the 707 with the
propulsion side delivering
most of the gains. Now we
make this change in the shape
because the planet demands it
and the airlines demand it, we
go to 50% lower fuel burn and
emissions. It’s physics - lift,
weight, drag and thrust.”
He rightly explains that the engine
gains while very impressive over
the decades have become com-
plex as the industry strives to
get to the holy grail of net zero.
O’Leary says another huge plus
for the JetZero design is that it will
use existing proven technology.
Driving the game changing proj-
ect JetZero won U.S. Air Force
backing last August to build a
demonstrator for the Z-5 with
the airline industry as well the
Pentagon.
The U.S. Air Force US$235 million
will involve JetZero’s partner
Northrop Grumman which taps
Northrop’s pedigree in flying-wing
stealth bombers.
The U.S. Air Force has stated that
the BWB “is one of the single
most impactful technology
opportunities for future U.S.
Air Force aircraft, both in terms
of capability improvement and
greenhouse gas emissions
reduction.”
The demonstrator will be pow-
ered by Pratt & Whitney’s Geared
Turbofan.
Also known as a hybrid wing body,
JetZero configuration is tailless
and more efficient than a con-
ventional tube-and-wing design
because of its reduced wetted
area, friction drag and lower form
drag. BWBs are also inherently
quieter than current airliners
because the airframe shields
most of the noise from engines
mounted on the upper surface.
JetZero’s Z-5 design, the first
in a proposed family of Z-series
aircraft, is optimized for a range
of at least 5,000 nm (9200km)
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