Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Boeing’s 757 ecoDemonstrator twice took to the air from Seattle’s Boeing Field on Tuesday, marking the launch of a several-months-long program to test new wing and vertical tail technologies. Conducted in collaboration with TUI Group and NASA, the latest flight tests continue the ecoDemonstrator program’s multi-year effort to accelerate testing, refinement and use of new technologies and methods meant to improve aviation’s environmental performance.

 


On the 757’s left wing, Boeing plans to evaluate technologies to reduce the environmental effects on natural laminar flow as a way to improve aerodynamic efficiency. For example, the team will test a Krueger shield that can protect the leading edge from insects.

 


Boeing is under contract with NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project to test two technologies on the 757 ecoDemonstrator. On the right wing, NASA plans to test&nbsp;“bug-phobic” coatings to reduce the residue left by bug strikes on the leading edges of aircraft wings in an effort to allow for more drag-reducing laminar flow over the remainder of the wing. &nbsp;

 


On the vertical tail, NASA and Boeing have begun testing active flow control to improve airflow over the rudder and maximize its aerodynamic efficiency. Wind tunnel testing has shown that active flow control could improve the rudder’s efficiency by up to 20 percent, potentially allowing for smaller vertical tail designs in the future.

 


Boeing plans to announce further tests with the 757 ecoDemonstrator, leased specifically for the tests. It plans to work with the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association and the lessor, Stifel’s aircraft finance division, to recycle the 757 using environmental “best practices” following the conclusion of testing.

 


Since its launch in 2011, the ecoDemonstrator program has tested more than 40 technologies with a 737NG and a 787 Dreamliner.

 


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News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

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News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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