Patent ID: 11643978

Abstract:
An aircraft including lean-burn gas turbine engines operating in pilot-plus-mains mode with a given initial fuel flow W0, a method of controlling the optical depth of contrails produced by a first group of engines includes the steps of (i) reducing fuel flow to each engine in the first group to change the operation of each engine from pilot-plus-mains mode to pilot-only mode, and (ii) adjusting fuel flow to one or more engines in a second group of engines such that the total fuel flow to engines of the second group is increased, all engines of the second group remaining in pilot-plus-mains mode, and wherein the set of lean-burn engines consists of the first and second groups. Depending on atmospheric conditions, the average optical depth of contrails produced by the engines may be enhanced or reduced compared to when all engines operate in pilot-plus-mains mode with a fuel flow W0.