Article Posted on : - Jan 17, 2011

The TaxiBot helping a Lufthansa B747-400 taxi in Frankfurt, Germany. An IAI photo

FRANKFURT (BNS): Lufthansa and IAI have successfully conducted an operating test for the TaxiBot used with a B747-400 to demonstrate its ability to tow an airplane from gate to runway and back under typical taxiing conditions.

The Taxibot Dispatch Towing system, designed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), allows airplanes to taxi to and from the airport gate to the runway without the need to operate their jet engines.

The test, conducted on a Lufthansa commercial B747-400 aircraft, followed a test in Toulouse on an Airbus A340-600 test aircraft, conducted by Airbus and IAI during the second quarter of 2010.

The Frankfurt test is a further milestone in the TaxiBot program which was launched in mid-2008 with the contribution of a Lufthansa LEOS Krauss-Maffie TPS-1.

Currently work is continuing to develop a TaxiBot prototype vehicle for Narrow Body airplanes, such as the A320 and B737 families.