A pilot is due to take on the challenge of flying from Sydney to London in an aircraft entirely powered by fuel made from plastic waste.
A pilot is due to take on the challenge of flying from Sydney to London in an aircraft entirely powered by fuel made from plastic waste.
Jeremy Rowsell will fly solo in a Cessna 182 at altitudes of around 5,000ft, and will follow the same route as the barnstorming pilots of the 1920s and 1930s.
The project – entitled ‘On Wings of Waste’ – will see Rowsell attempt to break the aircraft type record for the time taken to fly from London to Sydney. He will also become the first pilot to fly an aircraft aircraft using a synthetic fuel derived from end of life plastic waste bio fuel as a single source of power.
The 41 year-old pilot said: “Flying is critical to the economy, vital for saving lives and is the best way to experience the planet we live on. We can’t stop flying, but how can we do that and do it sustainably?”
The Cessna will be powered by fuel produced by Irish company Cynar PLC, which that takes end of life plastic waste, destined for landfill, and distils it into liquid fuel.
Rowsell said: “Our objective is to prove that this synthetic fuel made from plastic waste is viable for a number of practical solutions and by doing so replace the need to use fossil fuels from conventional sources. What better way to showcase this then via aviation – an industry that is looking to diesel fuel to provide a solution to the problems it faces with current avgas fuels that are costly and environmentally damaging.”
He will set off on his record-breaking flight later this year, and plans to stop en route at Darwin, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka, Oman, Jordan and Malta. The journey to London is expected to last six days.
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