Aircraft cooling system trialled

Airport equipment innovator Cavotec MSL has completed a two-week series of intensive trials of its PCAir aircraft cooling system, with aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, at the group’s production plant in Toulouse, France.

“It is extremely difficult to cool aircraft on the ground using conventional systems, as the inlet temperature needs to be at least -5 °C,” said Ottonel Popesco, Cavotec CEO.

“The Cavotec PCAir System is unlike any other air-based technology on the market, expanding dry compressed air to produce 100 cubic metres of pre-conditioned air per minute, at minus 25 °C."

Pilots tend to run onboard auxiliary power units (APUs) to cool parked aircraft, as conventional systems are often ineffective. APUs can burn between 200 and 600 L of fuel per hour, generating pollution at airports and consuming costly fuel that could be used to fly aircraft — not cool them on the ground.

The PCAir system provides the dual benefits of reducing pollution and reducing costs. This makes the system beneficial to all airport constituencies: airlines, airport operators and communities surrounding airports.

The culmination of in-house testing and the two-week trials at Airbus proved that the system operates effectively, having successfully delivered -25 °C ‘dry air’ in environments with ambient temperatures of up to 48 °C. Most importantly, the system cooled Airbus’s largest wide body aircraft, the A380, in less than 30 minutes, proving the system’s adaptability for the entire Airbus fleet.

The system is scheduled to go on sale during the second half of 2009.