German Aerospace Center DLR has added a Dornier 328-100 aircraft to its fleet which will be used to flight test hydrogen propulsion technologies.
The D328 UpLift research aircraft was delivered last week during a National Aviation Conference in Hamburg. The aircraft was modified and supplied by Deutsche Aircraft. The aircraft will be made available to as many interested industrial and research partners as possible, with an open technology policy, said DLR.
The UpLift project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. It aims to translate research into practical applications to progress the aviation industry’s move to more climate-friendly regional aircraft.
Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, chair of the DLR Executive Board said, “Air transport makes a decisive contribution to economic growth and thus to the prosperity of society.
“It is our responsibility to do everything in our power to ensure the availability of global mobility in the future, and to do so in harmony with the environment.”
“Research and science, industry and governments, not just in Germany, have a responsibility to do their part in reducing global carbon dioxide emissions and non-carbon-dioxide effects. And that requires us to implement all available technologies without compromise as a joint effort.”
The new UpLift flying test laboratory, a Dornier 328-100 Model 20 with the registration D-CUPL, will be part of the DLR research fleet and will be stationed at the Braunschweig site.
The UpLift aircraft has a modular design, making it suitable for use different projects and is particularly targeted for use by SMEs and start-ups without their own flight test facilities.
