Brazil, Curitiba
In a new twist to get the natural gas vehicle industry ‘off the ground’, industry members in Brazil have taken to the skies to demonstrate the versatility and safety of natural gas for vehicles, converting a light aircraft for operation on CNG.
After a series of test flights, the aircraft was used for a demonstration flight on July 31, the first of nine such flights being held in conjunction with the NGV Tourism Cup, an event including NGV racing cars.
The demonstration flights are to raise awareness in some areas of the benefits, including clean skies, of natural gas vehicles. Despite Brazil having almost 1 million natural gas vehicles and more than 1000 CNG refuelling stations, some areas in the south of the country only have small numbers of natural gas vehicles on the road. The project was first suggested and subsequently supported by the Brazilian Institute of Automotive Development (IBDA) in alliance with some NGV component suppliers.
Though initially used for demonstration purposes, consideration is also being given to using natural gas aircraft on a larger scale in the country. Using only one steel cylinder, with a 7.5 cubic meter capacity, the demonstration aircraft has a flying range of 40 minutes on natural gas. Combining the efficiency benefits of natural gas with the use of lightweight cylinders may make natural gas a feasible fuel for some aviation applications.
Editor’s note – Though the Brazilian CNG aircraft is believed to be the first of its type in the world, raders familiar with other similar projects are invited to submit details to ngv@ngvglobal.com
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