Project makes flights quieter and more environmentally friendly

The DYNCAT project provides pilots with new on-board system functions for support during the approach to an airport. The project, which is led by the German Aerospace Center with partners in Switzerland, France, and Germany, aims to enable more environmentally friendly and uniform flight profiles.

Using simulated approaches to runway 14 of Zurich Airport with and without DYNCAT and with the involvement of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), the researchers were able to show that aircraft with DYNCAT used 55 kilograms less fuel and were up to 4 decibels quieter from the start of the descent. According to the press release from Empa: “Despite high demands for climate-friendly and low-noise flying, some of which are contradictory, DYNCAT made it possible to achieve both goals more effectively.”

A team from Empa’s Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise Control has demonstrated how the assistance system works in a video. The aircraft noise model developed at Empa, sonAIR, calculated the noise level of the two flight variants with and without DYNCAT on board. This meant that the advantages of the new system could be quantified.