Aircraft Wheel & Brake division of Parker Aerospace, an
operating unit of
Parker Hannifin Corporation
(
PH
), has entered into an agreement with WheelTug Plc to exclusively
supply wheels for the WheelTug system on the Airbus A320 and
Boeing 737NG fleet of aircrafts.
The WheelTug aircraft drive system is installed in the nose
gear wheels of an aircraft. It utilizes high-performance electric
motors, to give full mobility to the airplane while on the
ground, replacing tug vehicles and the use of jet engines for
pushback and taxi.
Parker's Aircraft Wheel & Brake Division is highly
experienced and is deployed by virtually all of the world's
leading business and general aviation aircraft manufacturers, as
well as regional aviation aircraft, military and commercial
helicopters, trainers and unmanned aerial vehicles
manufacturers.
Both the companies have been working on this project over the
last few months and intend to spread the use of the WheelTug
system in other major aircrafts.
At present, the commercial aviation deploys a tug for aircraft
gate pushback, while forward taxi is powered by the aircraft's
engines. Further, while taxiing a Boeing 737 consumes 24 to 27
pounds of fuel per minute, while the WheelTug system consumes
only 4 pounds of fuel per minute, as it is completely powered by
the aircraft's auxiliary power unit (APU). Therefore, the fuel
consumption is reduced by approximately 80%, which will be a huge
benefit for the aircraft manufacturers as it will substantially
reduce the operational costs.
Apart from reducing fuel consumption, the WheelTug system also
provides various other benefits for the aircraft manufacturers.
WheelTug substantially reduces carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gas emissions, provides increased safety and
flexibility of operations, enables faster turnaround time,
provides reduced engine wear and repair costs and also helps
reduce noise pollution.
WheelTug projects total savings of approximately $500,000 per
aircraft per year. WheelTug systems will offer its technology to
airlines entirely on a lease or power-by-the-hour basis. The
systems can be installed and operated on aircraft without
generating any capital expenditure, thus aiding the airline
customers.
Hence, with this WheelTug system, the already-burdened
aircraft manufacturers can lower their operational costs in terms
of fuel consumption and maintenance.
Parker-Hannifin Corporation is a leading worldwide full-line
diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and
systems, including fluid power systems, electromechanical
controls and related components. The Aerospace segment
contributed 15.6% of the total revenue in fiscal 2011. Its
primary competitors include
Fluor Corporation
(
FLR
),
Precision Castparts Inc
. (
PCP
) and
Ingersoll Rand
(
IR
).
Parker Hanifin currently holds a Zacks #4 Rank, which implies
a short-term (1-3 months) Sell rating on the stock.
FLUOR CORP-NEW (FLR): Free Stock Analysis
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INGERSOLL RAND (IR): Free Stock Analysis
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PRECISION CASTP (PCP): Free Stock Analysis
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PARKER HANNIFIN (PH): Free Stock Analysis
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