El Al announced earlier this week that the company plans to upgrade the wheel system on twenty of its Boeing 737 jets. No, these new rims are not meant to make the jets contestants in MTV’s “Pimp My Ride”.
The new wheels convert planes into electric vehicles while on the ground, allowing the plane to maneuver to and from the gate without burning jet fuel.
Currently, planes must wait for ground staff to “taxi” the plane on the tarmac, requiring a separate vehicle to tug the plane. Dependence on this ground service can delays in scheduled departures and arrivals. Not to mention the fact that one or both of the plane’s engines are in use during taxi, each burning fuel at about two gallons a minute, which would even make the H2 Hummer blush. Considering how important safety is for the airline industry, having an airplane’s engines running for hours every day just for taxiing puts a drain on their long term functionality.
The new wheel system, designed by a company called WheelTug, contains two small motors weighing 300 pounds in the nose wheel that allow the jet to travel up to 28 miles per hour. Running off electricity from a small engine located in the rear of the plane, which is already on to power lights and ventilation, the jet will only burn about 4 pounds of fuel per minute. According to WheelTug, this can amount to almost 85% in fuel savings on the ground.
Although cutting costs, delays, and fuel emissions are all wonderful, it looks like these planes will be waiting in the taxi line till 2013, when aviation regulators are expected to approve the new system.
