WHEELTUG – FAR BEYOND FUEL SAVINGS

WHEELTUG – FAR BEYOND
FUEL SAVINGS
Contact: Jan VANA  +44 (0)207 993 4293  +420 724 276 506  [email protected]
Instead of a traditional push-back...
...the aircraft is equipped with an
electric motor on the nose wheel and
can maneuver on its own
Wheels: Head to Head
The WheelTug® System
Key WheelTug Features
•
•
Rapid retrofit - installable using just overnights + 2 shifts for the landing gear swap
Easily Uninstalled – removes in 2 shifts, so not a permanent feature
•
•
•
Fits into existing wheel well space
Power from the APU
Minimal (read-only) connection to aircraft data
•
Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL) – system does not need to function for aircraft
dispatch
•
Cockpit, wire harness, software and ICE Box are zero maintenance items, unless flagged
•
Wheel Package will be inspected with tire changes
• Wheels and subcomponents will be replaced when inspections merit it
Engine & APU Usage
• The average US narrowbody taxis for 21 min/cycle
• Engine warm-up & cool-down requires 3 minutes each
• Single-engine taxi keeps the APU on to avoid cross-bleed starts
20
10
0
0
50
40
30
1
20
10
0
0
2
50
40
30
1
20
10
0
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21
Taxi Minutes
Taxi Minutes
Taxi Minutes
Engine Time/Min
APUTime/Min
Engine Time/Min
APUTime/Min
Engine Time/Min
APUTime/Min
Total Engine Time
Total APUTime
Total Engine Time
Total APUTime
Total Engine Time
Total APUTime
Cumulative Time
30
1
WheelTug Taxi
Engines/APUsOn
40
2
Engines/APUsOn
50
Cumulative Time
Engines/APUsOn
2
Single-Engine Taxi
Cumulative Time
Dual-Engine Taxi
Pushback Savings
Pushback Savings/Cycle
$2,500
$4,000,000
$2,000
$3,500,000
$3,000,000
SavingsPer Cycle
• WheelTug eliminates pushback tugs, removing
pushback costs & associated risks
• Pushback costs typically include capital,
personnel, maintenance, fuel, & incident costs
(insurance, etc.)
• Pushback costs are typically >$100/cycle
• Regional costs can be much higher – as
much as $500 per push in some cases
$4,500,000
Twist ($1670)
$1,500
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,000
$1,500,000
Other ($60)
$1,000,000
$500
Time ($390)
$0
Pushback ($100)
Fuel ($100)
Total Savings/Cycle
vs. Single-Engine Taxi
Engine ($40)
$500,000
$0
Incidents add to Pushback Costs
FOD & Engine Wear
Environmental engine wear & FOD
leads to damaged blades…
Engine Maintenance Expense
• Lessors calculate maintenance
reserves based on airports of
operation
• This is because most particulates
and debris damage the engine on
the ground
• Maintenance costs are $175/block
hour/engine^
Engine Environmental Distress Map (Aircraft Monitor)
WheelTug saves: $21/cycle vs. single-engine taxi and
$43/cycle vs. dual engine taxi
^
Source: Analysis of Aircraft Commerce – Owner’s & Operator’s Guide: 737NG Family
Performance Retention
Efficiency Loss
•
•
•
Typical fuel efficiency loss is 4% over 8 years
80% of this loss is attributable to taxi
Annually 0.4% in efficiency is lost due to taxi
Annual Cost of Efficiency Loss
•
Each year of taxi use costs $14,400/engine/year in
lost fuel efficiency (w/fuel cost of $7.2M/yr/aircraft)
Cost per Minute
•
At a 8% discount rate and average of 4 years until overhaul, each year of taxi costs $51,500
in future fuel efficiency. Average aircraft taxi for 35,910 minutes/year (1700 cycles * 21
minutes), so each minute is worth $1.43 in fuel efficiency improvement.
WheelTug saves: $20/cycle vs. single-engine taxi and
$42/cycle vs. dual engine taxi
Taxi-in/Out Time Savings
•
•
•
•
No waiting for a pushback tractor
No need to disconnect from a towbar or lift tug
For gateless operations, engines can be started during taxi out
On arrival, ground crews do not need to wait for engines to spool down
Turnaround Delays (seconds)
Stage
Gateless
Gate/Towbar
Gate/Lift Tug
WheelTug
Est. average delays (for tractor/marshalling or disconnect)
135
130
60
Tug-disconnect & engine start
150
130
0
Engine start & checklist (gateless)
200
0
Wait on taxi-in
15
15
15
0
Total
215
300
285
60
WheelTug Twist™
WheelTug Twist™
Reduce ground clutter
Eliminate vehicles
Speed turnarounds
Independent departure
Magnitude of Time Savings
• Two-door operation (using jetbridges) is in use by Southwest at Albany
• United’s TED subsidiary operated similarly in Denver (until the bridge damaged the
wing). They saved 12.5 minutes every turn for an A320 aircraft!
Time Savings
Time Savings/Cycle
Turnaround Time
vs. lift tug
20
including average delays
18
WheelTug Twist
WheelTug Pushback
Gat eless
Lif t Tug
Towbar Tug
16
30
35
40
45
50
Minut es
Doors-Open t o Doors-Closed
Engine Spin Down on arrival
Wait f or Pushback/ Marshalling
Tug/ Towbar Disconnect Time & Checklist
Engine St art & Checklist
55
Minutes
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
WheelTug Pushback
WheelTug Twist
Other Savings: Brakes
• Pilots “ride” the brakes today to counteract constant engine thrust
• Carbon brakes wear poorly when cold
• Industry measures taxi out brake wear at 79%, and landing at only 19%
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG4Aw5BujEU
• WheelTug should reduce brake wear by at least 40%. Brakes would only be
counteracting engine thrust at the end of the taxi, when engines are started
Carbon Brake Savings
Carbon brake replacement cost
$144,000
Replacement timeline
18 months
Cost/year
$96,000
Wear attributed to braking against engines
~40%
Savings/Year (4.5 cycles)
$38,400
Other Savings: Emissions
• Emissions reductions can improve an
airline’s image with:
• Customers
• Airports
• Regulators
• Environmental groups
• & media
• Prague Airport won IATA’s Eagle Award
for Most Deserving Airport in the world –
crediting support for WheelTug
development!
• WheelTug has just won the 2013 ATW
Eco-Technology of the Year Award!
Emissions/Cycle
Emissions Credit Value
Kg emissions/lb of fuel
1.62
lbs fuel saved vs. single-engine taxi/cycle
245
Value/1000 kg of emissions (point carbon)
$7.82
Value/cycle
$3.12
Value/Year (4.5 cycles)
$5,050
Delivery Slots Reserved: 985
Total Airline Value
Tot al Net Savings/ Year
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
WheelTug
Twist ™
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
Time
$500,000
Pushback
Fuel
Engine Wear
$0
Fuel
Estimated Net
NEO/Max Savings
Pushback
Engine
Wear
Time
Twist
Partnerships
WheelTug’s EIS: 2016
MRO/CSO network build-up now
www.wheeltug.com

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