Re: Porter Airlines Proposal

We would like to share this letter we received from a concernced citizen regarding the proposed plans for the Toronto Island Airport

Councillor Del Grande,

The proposal by Porter Airlines to operate Bombardier C-Series jets from Billy Bishop airport has generated widespread reaction. Because this proposal has tremendous potential to quickly become embroiled in sensational rhetoric, I respectfully ask you, as a city councilor, to fully investigate the facts before forming an opinion on this matter.

The fact is that the aircraft being proposed, Bombardier¹s new C-Series regional jet, uses a new engine technology known as GTF, or Geared Turbo Fan. The bottom line is that an aircraft powered by these GTF engines will emit lower noise and vibration levels than the turboprops presently operating from Billy Bishop airport. The engine type has been in development for more than 10 years by Pratt & Whitney Canada, and will also be used on next-generation Airbus and Boeing jets as well as the Bombardier product. The engine is a Canadian high tech success story.

The turboprop aircraft presently operating from Billy Bishop airport are, in fact, jet powered. Their turboprop powerplant uses a small jet engine that spins a turbine, which in turn drives the propeller. So there are two sources of noise from this arrangement - from the internal jet engine itself, and another from the propeller. The GTF engines on the C-Series would, in approximate terms, equal the sound of the turboprop¹s jet engine, minus the additional propeller noise. In practical terms, the sound of traffic on the Gardiner Expressway would easily drown it out.

The benefits associated with GTF technology go beyond noise abatement, however. The new engines produce considerably lower carbon emissions compared to the jet engines currently in use on most civil aircraft - up to 55% less. And because these new engines are designed to be fully compatible with biofuels (Air Canada began experimenting with these last year), there is potential to reduce carbon emissions even further with the adoption of biofuel products.

Since a significant proportion of passenger traffic through Billy Bishop airport is business travellers coming into Toronto, eliminating hundreds of long taxi rides downtown from Pearson airport each day can only help lower carbon emissions still further.

In short, the new Bombardier C-Series aircraft are nothing like the loud, smoky jets we all grew up with. The aircraft are extraordinarily quiet, and far cleaner than anything else in the sky - including the turboprops already in use.

I encourage you to investigate this technology in greater depth before forming a firm opinion on this matter. For your interest, these links can give you a good starting point:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_PW1000G

http://www.purepowerengine.com/

http://cseries.com/en

http://www.flycseries.com/

Full disclosure - I have absolutely zero connection to Porter Airlines, Pratt & Whitney Canada or Bombardier. My interest in this comes as someone who travels on business extensively, and who fully supports a couple of outstanding Canadian-made products. If we can facilitate business travel into downtown Toronto while reducing noise pollution and carbon emissions simultaneously, we all win.

Regards