When grounded, aircraft may taxi using thrust from the main aircraft engines, which can waste fuel and is often inefficient. This disclosure outlines an electric aircraft taxi system, or eTaxi system, that can operate without continuous power from the aircraft engines, allowing the engines to be turned off during taxi to save fuel. An electric auxiliary power unit, or eAPU, is equipped on the aircraft and powers electric motor-generators that can both drive landing gear wheels and regenerate power from the wheels during regenerative braking. When the eTaxi system is on, a drive controller and a taxi controller gather inputs from the aircraft controls and converts them into commands sent to the electric motor-generators, brakes, and steering devices.
Electric Auxiliary Power Unit Based Electric Taxi System for Aircraft
2024-10-24
Patent
Electronic Resource
English