THE future of air travel lies in efficiency, not size, according to an engineer who worked on the largest passenger plane in the world.
Airbus engineer Colin Brazendale, 53, visited the island to talk to students and engineers.
Mr Brazendale (pictured) said new aircraft will be much smaller.
‘The A380 is probably the largest we can build,’ he said.
‘What we are doing now is pushing performance. We are going to look closely at the efficiency of planes.’
He said designs were constantly developing and environmental issues were high on the company’s agenda.
While there is no chance of an electrically powered plane in the near future, biofuels are already being developed to power aircraft.
‘Nothing is closed off, and we are robustly exploring new fuels,’ he said.
‘The environment is very important to us, and we are committed to looking into ways to be more green.’
Mr Brazendale joined the Fleet Air Arm before moving to Airbus 10 years ago.
Since the completion of the A380, Mr Brazendale has gone on to become the A350 programme head of system for equipment integration.
The A350 is still in development and is due to be 10 metres shorter than the A380.
This was Mr Brazendale’s first trip to Guernsey.
He spoke to pupils at Elizabeth College about the challenges the company had faced with the A380.
‘They asked some good questions,’ he said.
‘They were interested in the green side of things, and how much recycled materials were used in the planes.’
He also spoke to the Channel Island Group of Professional Engineers about the challenges he faced working on the A380.
CIGPE committee member Steve Le Feuvre said he was pleased that Mr Brazendale had found time to visit.
‘This was a great opportunity for anybody interested in engineering,’ he said.
‘There is not always time for our guests to visit schools, so it was nice to visit Elizabeth College.
Article posted on 27th November, 2009 - 2.30pm
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