Fresh from its deployment to investigate Eyjafjallajökull's
atmospheric impact, a Dassault Falcon 20E "ash hunter" aircraft
belonging to German aerospace centre DLR is on display at the
show - with "100 years of the ILA" emblazoned on its nose. Amid
aviation's volcanic crisis the aircraft was deployed to measure
ash concentrations at altitudes of between 6,550ft (2,000m) and
39,350ft. In service since 1976, it is deployable at altitudes
higher than those at which civil aircraft fly. It can be used to
obtain readings in the vicinity of thunderstorms or just 30m
behind the engines of a commercial aircraft. In the middle
latitudes, the 20E can reach the lower stratosphere, a focus of
much recent research on account of the receding ozone layer.
Additionally, the DLR is giving an air show debut to its Antares
DLR-H2 aircraft, which, it says, is the first manned aircraft
powered by fuel cells and capable of taking off, flying and
landing without producing any CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, the
DLR's Airbus A320-232 Adva