The backers of a push to reform the MCAS graduation exam said Wednesday that they’ve joined forces on a single campaign to require the commonwealth to replace it with a local certification requirement to earn a high school diploma.
“My co-signers and I embarked on a ballot initiative as enthusiastic parent advocates to end the MCAS requirement for graduation,” Shelly Scruggs, a parent from Lexington who filed the first petition to change the graduation requirement, said in a statement.
“We were both relieved and excited to learn that the Committee to Eliminate Barriers to Student Success for All was also gearing up for this fight and had the backing of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and its allies,” Scruggs said.
The push to to reform the standardized exam is among the nearly four-dozen ballot initiatives filed with state Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office that could be decided in 2024 or 2026, State House News Service reported earlier this month.
Supporters of the sprawling array of questions filed multiple versions of the same question on several topics, including nine versions of a revived app-based driver question and eight versions of a proposed law requiring voter identification, State House News Service reported.
That’s a standard tactic, undertaken as supporters gauge which version has the best odds of legal and political survival, State House News Service further reported.
“Massachusetts students, families and schools will only benefit from this combined campaign to replace the MCAS graduation requirement with a more suitable and authentic demonstration of student ability,” Scruggs said.
MTA President Max Page said that having a single question on next November’s ballot will be less confusing for voters. But, he noted, the fact that two questions were filed on the syllabu proved the public appetite for reform.
“We all share the same goals of maintaining high standards in Massachusetts schools and ensuring that every student granted a diploma has mastered academic skills aligned with state curriculum frameworks,” Page said.
“Massachusetts residents are ready to join the vast majority of states that have scrapped the use of standardized tests as a graduation requirement and instead use authentic, educator-designed assessments of student skills,” Page continued. “The MCAS will still be taken, as is required by federal law, but it will be used for diagnostic purposes, and not as a high-stakes test required for earning a diploma.”
The new coalition will back the version of the MCAS ballot question supported by the MTA’s Board of Directors, organizers said in their statement.
The single question asks voters to replace the MCAS’ graduation requirement with a locally developed certification of academic proficiency, advocates said.
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Almost seven in ten of the 2,926 candidates who took the CFP Certification exam in July passed.
The CFP Board stats show that the 67% pass rate was the highest since July 2015 (70%), although the exam blueprint has been updated twice since, in March 2016 and March 2022.
Ten states accounted for more than half (1,562) of those taking the exam last month – California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Colorado, Ohio and Massachusetts – although the individual states’ pass rates is not reported.
Asked after the exam why they wanted to gain CFP Certification, 41% said to demonstrate experience on the job (41%), and 25% said to distinguish themselves as a fiduciary.
Firms showed strong support for their candidates with 77% of exam takers saying they had received some financial support from their employer during the examination process.
“As CFP Board continues to foster growth in the financial planning profession, we are committed to providing access to the tools CFP® certification candidates need to prepare for the exam,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “Congratulations to candidates from across the country for passing this rigorous exam.”
Prepping for the exam
Exam takers from last month’s round were asked how they prepared for the examination.
The top answers included:
- CFP Board Practice exam 1
- the exam Candidate Handbook
- the Candidate Preparation Toolkit.
Other resources used included CFP Board supplementary resources and guidance documents, the CFP Board Candidate Forum and webinars.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CFP Board today announced the results of the July 2023 CFP® Certification Exam. The exam was administered during a July 11-18 testing window to 2,926 candidates, with 6% of candidates testing remotely. The pass rate for the July exam was 67%.
According to the July 2023 post-exam survey, the main reason exam-takers are pursuing CFP® certification is to demonstrate experience on the job (41%), followed by to distinguish themselves as a fiduciary (25%). Of the exam-takers, 77% reported receiving some level of financial support from their employers during the CFP® certification process.
Registration for the CFP® exam showed that 71% of July candidates are under 40 years old and 38% are under 30 years old.
The top three CFP Board exam preparation resources used by exam-takers were CFP Board Practice exam 1, the exam Candidate Handbook and the Candidate Preparation Toolkit. Other resources used included CFP Board supplementary resources and guidance documents, the CFP Board Candidate Forum and webinars. The 10 states with the most exam-takers were California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Colorado, Ohio and Massachusetts, with 1,562 candidates from these states sitting for the exam.
"As CFP Board continues to foster growth in the financial planning profession, we are committed to providing access to the tools CFP® certification candidates need to prepare for the exam," said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. "Congratulations to candidates from across the country for passing this rigorous exam."
Statistics from previous exams — including those from the July 2023 exam — are available on CFP Board's exam statistics webpage.
November 2023 Exam
The CFP® exam is offered three times annually, in March, July and November. Registration for the November 2023 CFP® Certification exam is now open. This exam will be administered from October 31 through November 7, 2023. The registration deadline is October 17, and the Education Verification deadline is October 10. Testing appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. We therefore encourage individuals to register for the exam at least 60 days in advance for the best date and site availability. Early registrants who schedule exams by September 5 are eligible for a discount.
To begin the path to certification, CFP® certification candidates should create accounts on CFP.net. Here, they can access resources for all stages of their certification journey.
ABOUT CFP BOARD
CFP Board is the professional body for personal financial planners in the U.S. CFP Board consists of two affiliated organizations focused on advancing the financial planning profession for the public's benefit. CFP Board of Standards sets and upholds standards for financial planning and administers the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification — widely recognized by the public, advisors and firms as the standard for financial planners — so that the public has access to the benefits of competent and ethical financial planning. CFP® certification is held by more than 96,000 people in the U.S. CFP Board Center for Financial Planning addresses diversity and workforce development challenges and conducts and publishes research that adds to the financial planning profession's body of knowledge.
View original content to get multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cfp-board-announces-july-2023-cfp-certification-exam-results-301901084.html
SOURCE Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
BOSTON (SHNS) – Hundreds of aspiring nurse aides can start taking their certification exams in Spanish and Chinese next year, the start of a multilingual policy that advocates and lawmakers say will tackle a major workforce shortage in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
The English-only exam for certified nurse aides (CNAs) has prevented non-native speakers — including those with years of nursing experience in other countries — from accessing the entry level health care role here. The new language options were included in a policy section within the fiscal 2024 budget that Gov. Maura Healey signed into law last week, but lawmakers say it is only the first step in breaking down barriers for immigrant CNAs and improving care for nursing home residents who don’t speak English.
“Just before the pandemic, we turned away probably three dozen applicants that wanted to become nurse aides because we knew they couldn’t pass the test in English, so this is going to be a huge help for us, and I think it’s going to benefit other populations, as well,” said Bill Graves, president and CEO of the South Cove Manor, a nursing and rehabilitation facility in Quincy where the vast majority of residents are native Chinese speakers. “We could hire another dozen tomorrow and put them to work right away if they could pass the test.”
An influx of new CNAs — who provide care for daily tasks like bathing, eating and dressing — would Boost staffing ratios and help staunch burnout among current staffers who must work overtime, Graves said.
Asani Furaha, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a former longtime nurse for Doctors Without Borders, said at a July committee hearing that she failed the written part of the CNA exam three times due to language barriers. Yet she passed the clinical component on the first try, calling it “simple.”
The policy to expand language offerings for the CNA written exam made it to former Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk last year as part of a broader economic development bill, and he returned it to lawmakers with an amendment asking for an implementation date and tacked on other initiatives for mental health exams for incarcerated people. The Legislature didn’t take up Baker’s proposed changes, though Sens. Jo Comerford and John Keenan and Rep. Tackey Chan revived the issue with similar legislation (H 3609 / S 1336) this session.
Under the budget signed by Healey, the Department of Public Health must offer the CNA exam in a language other than English by Oct. 1, 2024, though Keenan said he intends to urge officials to target a faster timeline. The CNA exam used to be available in Chinese before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the state used a different exam provider, Keenan and Chan said.
“The demand is immediate — it’s now, and I think we have to respond as quickly as possible,” Keenan, a Quincy Democrat, told the News Service. “It’s long overdue. I can’t imagine how isolating it must be when somebody is in a room and unable to communicate with a nurse, CNA or anyone that comes in.”
At the committee hearing last month, Keenan lamented the disconnect between the CNA exams being offered in just English, compared to the learner’s permit exam in more than 30 languages.
Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, also called on DPH to implement the policy “as soon as practical” to grow the volume of CNAs, who she said deliver the majority of direct care and provide “vital companionship” to residents at nursing facilities.
There are 3,240 vacant CNA positions, Gregorio said, citing a July 2023 workforce survey from the association. That translates into a 20 percent vacancy rate, she said.
“Quality of care and quality of life for individuals living in nursing facilities is directly dependent upon an adequate number of caregivers at a time when demand critically outpaces supply,” Gregorio said in a statement to the News Service. “As demand for nursing home services continues to grow, it is critical that we continue to work together to adopt policies, like this new provision, that embraces our direct care workforce and aging population and allows nursing facilities to continue to recruit and retain a more stable and skilled workforce.”
At South Cove Manor, Graves said CNAs who can only speak English sometimes need to ask a bilingual colleague for help translating on behalf of residents, who could be expressing that they’re in pain or need another meal. Hiring CNAs who are fluent in Chinese would be a “huge benefit” for his facility, said Graves, the former chair of the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Nursing Home Administrators.
“For us to hire all English-speaking nursing aides doesn’t make sense,” Graves said.
The related Senate bill that’s pending on Beacon Hill calls for the CNA exam to be in a “language other than English, including but not limited to Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Spanish and Chinese.” Meanwhile, the policy approved through the budget only invokes Spanish and Chinese, while likewise allowing DPH to determine which other languages are needed.
A DPH official told the News Service the department will make future decisions about providing additional choices without specifying what other languages could be under consideration.
DPH is working with the state’s CNA testing provider to ensure exam guides are developed, translated and made available to applicants, the official said. There will be a public comment period, as well as a public hearing, as DPH modifies nurse aide regulations, the official said.
The language policy in the budget falls short of the legislation that Comerford said she will still pursue “without question” this session — including “commonsense measures” aimed at making the CNA exam more comprehensible to non-native speakers, who struggle with the phrasing of certain multiple choice questions.
Comerford said the budget leaves DPH with a “good deal of latitude” for crafting rules and regulations to implement the exam policy.
“It’s a wonderful first step honestly, and it’s an acknowledgement of what it’s going to really take to break down barriers to access for those who would like to become certified nurse aides,” the Northampton Democrat said of the budget. “I have faith in DPH that they’re going to want to make this test as accessible as possible within the limits of the law.”
The current CNA exam is not “straightforward,” said Laurie Millman, executive director of the Northampton-based Center for New Americans, which offers training for students preparing for the CNA exam. Millman said immigrants view the CNA role as an opportunity to strengthen their English vocabulary before they continue their education and pursue other health care positions, such as medical assistants or phlebotomists, that allow them to save up for a house and car, among other expenses.
Yet due to the language barrier, only 60 percent of students who are learning English at the center pass the written exam, compared to 80 percent who pass the clinical exam, according to Millman. She said she regularly fields “frantic” calls from long-term care facilities who are searching to hire CNAs.
“We end up taking so much time decoding the exam rather than measuring what students know,” she said. “We are receiving a lot of immigrants; the smart money figures out who’s highly qualified and removes the barriers. If you have the lens that says Americans are not the only people who are qualified — there are highly qualified people all over the world — figure out how to make these pathways more accessible.”
Hundreds of aspiring nurse aides can start taking their certification exams in Spanish and Chinese next year, the start of a multilingual policy that advocates and lawmakers say will tackle a major workforce shortage in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
The English-only exam for certified nurse aides (CNAs) has prevented non-native speakers -- including those with years of nursing experience in other countries -- from accessing the entry-level health care role here. The new language options were included in a policy section within the fiscal 2024 budget that Gov. Maura Healey signed into law last week, but lawmakers say it is only the first step in breaking down barriers for immigrant CNAs and improving care for nursing home residents who don’t speak English.
“Just before the pandemic, we turned away probably three dozen applicants that wanted to become nurse aides because we knew they couldn’t pass the test in English, so this is going to be a huge help for us, and I think it’s going to benefit other populations, as well,” said Bill Graves, president and CEO of the South Cove Manor, a nursing and rehabilitation facility in Quincy where the vast majority of residents are native Chinese speakers. “We could hire another dozen tomorrow and put them to work right away if they could pass the test.”
An influx of new CNAs -- who provide care for daily tasks like bathing, eating and dressing -- would Boost staffing ratios and help staunch burnout among current staffers who must work overtime, Graves said.
Asani Furaha, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a former longtime nurse for Doctors Without Borders, said at a July committee hearing that she failed the written part of the CNA exam three times due to language barriers. Yet she passed the clinical component on the first try, calling it “simple.”
The policy to expand language offerings for the CNA written exam made it to former Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk last year as part of a broader economic development bill, and he returned it to lawmakers with an amendment asking for an implementation date and tacked on other initiatives for mental health exams for incarcerated people. The Legislature didn’t take up Baker’s proposed changes, though Sens. Jo Comerford and John Keenan and Rep. Tackey Chan revived the issue with similar legislation (H 3609 / S 1336) this session.
Under the budget signed by Healey, the Department of Public Health must offer the CNA exam in a language other than English by Oct. 1, 2024, though Keenan said he intends to urge officials to target a faster timeline. The CNA exam used to be available in Chinese before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the state used a different exam provider, Keenan and Chan said.
“The demand is immediate -- it’s now, and I think we have to respond as quickly as possible,” Keenan, a Quincy Democrat, told the News Service. “It’s long overdue. I can’t imagine how isolating it must be when somebody is in a room and unable to communicate with a nurse, CNA or anyone that comes in.”
At the committee hearing last month, Keenan lamented the disconnect between the CNA exams being offered in just English, compared to the learner’s permit exam in more than 30 languages.
Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, also called on DPH to implement the policy “as soon as practical” to grow the volume of CNAs, who she said deliver the majority of direct care and provide “vital companionship” to residents at nursing facilities.
There are 3,240 vacant CNA positions, Gregorio said, citing a July 2023 workforce survey from the association. That translates into a 20 percent vacancy rate, she said.
“Quality of care and quality of life for individuals living in nursing facilities is directly dependent upon an adequate number of caregivers at a time when demand critically outpaces supply,” Gregorio said in a statement to the News Service. “As demand for nursing home services continues to grow, it is critical that we continue to work together to adopt policies, like this new provision, that embraces our direct care workforce and aging population and allows nursing facilities to continue to recruit and retain a more stable and skilled workforce.”
At South Cove Manor, Graves said CNAs who can only speak English sometimes need to ask a bilingual colleague for help translating on behalf of residents, who could be expressing that they’re in pain or need another meal. Hiring CNAs who are fluent in Chinese would be a “huge benefit” for his facility, said Graves, the former chair of the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Nursing Home Administrators.
“For us to hire all English-speaking nursing aides doesn’t make sense,” Graves said.
The related Senate bill that’s pending on Beacon Hill calls for the CNA exam to be in a “language other than English, including but not limited to Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Spanish and Chinese.” Meanwhile, the policy approved through the budget only invokes Spanish and Chinese, while likewise allowing DPH to determine which other languages are needed.
A DPH official told the News Service the department will make future decisions about providing additional choices without specifying what other languages could be under consideration.
DPH is working with the state’s CNA testing provider to ensure exam guides are developed, translated and made available to applicants, the official said. There will be a public comment period, as well as a public hearing, as DPH modifies nurse aide regulations, the official said.
The language policy in the budget falls short of the legislation that Comerford said she will still pursue “without question” this session -- including “commonsense measures” aimed at making the CNA exam more comprehensible to non-native speakers, who struggle with the phrasing of certain multiple choice questions.
Comerford said the budget leaves DPH with a “good deal of latitude” for crafting rules and regulations to implement the exam policy.
“It’s a wonderful first step honestly, and it’s an acknowledgment of what it’s going to really take to break down barriers to access for those who would like to become certified nurse aides,” the Northampton Democrat said of the budget. “I have faith in DPH that they’re going to want to make this test as accessible as possible within the limits of the law.”
The current CNA exam is not “straightforward,” said Laurie Millman, executive director of the Northampton-based Center for New Americans, which offers training for students preparing for the CNA exam. Millman said immigrants view the CNA role as an opportunity to strengthen their English vocabulary before they continue their education and pursue other health care positions, such as medical assistants or phlebotomists, that allow them to save up for a house and car, among other expenses.
Yet due to the language barrier, only 60 percent of students who are learning English at the center pass the written exam, compared to 80 percent who pass the clinical exam, according to Millman. She said she regularly fields “frantic” calls from long-term care facilities who are searching to hire CNAs.
“We end up taking so much time decoding the exam rather than measuring what students know,” she said. “We are receiving a lot of immigrants; the smart money figures out who’s highly qualified and removes the barriers. If you have the lens that says Americans are not the only people who are qualified -- there are highly qualified people all over the world -- figure out how to make these pathways more accessible.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Hundreds of aspiring nurse aides can start taking their certification exams in Spanish and Chinese next year, the start of a multilingual policy that advocates and lawmakers say will tackle a major workforce shortage in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
The English-only exam for certified nurse aides (CNAs) has prevented non-native speakers — including those with years of nursing experience in other countries — from accessing the entry level health care role here. The new language options were included in a policy section within the fiscal 2024 budget that Gov. Maura Healey signed into law last week, but lawmakers say it is only the first step in breaking down barriers for immigrant CNAs and improving care for nursing home residents who don't speak English.
"Just before the pandemic, we turned away probably three dozen applicants that wanted to become nurse aides because we knew they couldn't pass the test in English, so this is going to be a huge help for us, and I think it's going to benefit other populations, as well," said Bill Graves, president and CEO of the South Cove Manor, a nursing and rehabilitation facility in Quincy where the vast majority of residents are native Chinese speakers. "We could hire another dozen tomorrow and put them to work right away if they could pass the test."
An influx of new CNAs — who provide care for daily tasks like bathing, eating and dressing — would Boost staffing ratios and help staunch burnout among current staffers who must work overtime, Graves said.
Asani Furaha, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a former longtime nurse for Doctors Without Borders, said at a July committee hearing that she failed the written part of the CNA exam three times due to language barriers. Yet she passed the clinical component on the first try, calling it "simple."
The policy to expand language offerings for the CNA written exam made it to former Gov. Charlie Baker's desk last year as part of a broader economic development bill, and he returned it to lawmakers with an amendment asking for an implementation date and tacked on other initiatives for mental health exams for incarcerated people. The Legislature didn't take up Baker's proposed changes, though Sens. Jo Comerford and John Keenan and Rep. Tackey Chan revived the issue with similar legislation this session.
Under the budget signed by Healey, the Department of Public Health must offer the CNA exam in a language other than English by Oct. 1, 2024, though Keenan said he intends to urge officials to target a faster timeline. The CNA exam used to be available in Chinese before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the state used a different exam provider, Keenan and Chan said.
"The demand is immediate — it's now, and I think we have to respond as quickly as possible," Keenan, a Quincy Democrat, told the State House News Service. "It's long overdue. I can't imagine how isolating it must be when somebody is in a room and unable to communicate with a nurse, CNA or anyone that comes in."
At the committee hearing last month, Keenan lamented the disconnect between the CNA exams being offered in just English, compared to the learner's permit exam in more than 30 languages.
Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, also called on DPH to implement the policy "as soon as practical" to grow the volume of CNAs, who she said deliver the majority of direct care and provide "vital companionship" to residents at nursing facilities.
There are 3,240 vacant CNA positions, Gregorio said, citing a July 2023 workforce survey from the association. That translates into a 20% vacancy rate, she said.
"Quality of care and quality of life for individuals living in nursing facilities is directly dependent upon an adequate number of caregivers at a time when demand critically outpaces supply," Gregorio said in a statement to the News Service. "As demand for nursing home services continues to grow, it is critical that we continue to work together to adopt policies, like this new provision, that embraces our direct care workforce and aging population and allows nursing facilities to continue to recruit and retain a more stable and skilled workforce."
At South Cove Manor, Graves said CNAs who can only speak English sometimes need to ask a bilingual colleague for help translating on behalf of residents, who could be expressing that they're in pain or need another meal. Hiring CNAs who are fluent in Chinese would be a "huge benefit" for his facility, said Graves, the former chair of the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Nursing Home Administrators.
"For us to hire all English-speaking nursing aides doesn't make sense," Graves said.
The related Senate bill that's pending on Beacon Hill calls for the CNA exam to be in a "language other than English, including but not limited to Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Spanish and Chinese." Meanwhile, the policy approved through the budget only invokes Spanish and Chinese, while likewise allowing DPH to determine which other languages are needed.
A DPH official told the State House News Service the department will make future decisions about providing additional choices without specifying what other languages could be under consideration.
DPH is working with the state's CNA testing provider to ensure exam guides are developed, translated and made available to applicants, the official said. There will be a public comment period, as well as a public hearing, as DPH modifies nurse aide regulations, the official said.
The language policy in the budget falls short of the legislation that Comerford said she will still pursue "without question" this session — including "commonsense measures" aimed at making the CNA exam more comprehensible to non-native speakers, who struggle with the phrasing of certain multiple choice questions.
Comerford said the budget leaves DPH with a "good deal of latitude" for crafting rules and regulations to implement the exam policy.
"It's a wonderful first step honestly, and it's an acknowledgement of what it's going to really take to break down barriers to access for those who would like to become certified nurse aides," the Northampton Democrat said of the budget. "I have faith in DPH that they're going to want to make this test as accessible as possible within the limits of the law."
The current CNA exam is not "straightforward," said Laurie Millman, executive director of the Northampton-based Center for New Americans, which offers training for students preparing for the CNA exam. Millman said immigrants view the CNA role as an opportunity to strengthen their English vocabulary before they continue their education and pursue other health care positions, such as medical assistants or phlebotomists, that allow them to save up for a house and car, among other expenses.
Yet due to the language barrier, only 60% of students who are learning English at the center pass the written exam, compared to 80% who pass the clinical exam, according to Millman. She said she regularly fields "frantic" calls from long-term care facilities who are searching to hire CNAs.
"We end up taking so much time decoding the exam rather than measuring what students know," she said. "We are receiving a lot of immigrants; the smart money figures out who's highly qualified and removes the barriers. If you have the lens that says Americans are not the only people who are qualified — there are highly qualified people all over the world — figure out how to make these pathways more accessible."
The first test flight took off from Cotswold Airport
An aviation company plans to run commercial flights using an electric engine that creates no carbon emissions by 2025.
ZeroAvia has flown nine test flights with its hydrogen-electric engine at Cotswold Airport, near Cirencester.
The only emission created by the engine is water.
Sergey Kiselev, Vice-President of ZeroAvia, said the engine would help achieve "the decarbonisation of aviation".
The plane has already flown a number of test flights
Many other aerospace firms are developing engines that run on hydrogen, but most are not expecting to fly commercially until 2035. So how have they done it, and could it be possible to fly without causing climate change much sooner than people had thought?
How does it work?
The Gloucestershire-based company are moving much faster because they are not designing an entirely new aircraft.
ZeroAvia is working on the Dornier 228, a conventional 19-seater plane that has two propellers, usually powered by kerosene.
One of these has been replaced by an electric engine, and the electricity is generated on-board using a hydrogen fuel cell. For the testing period, the other engine remains fuelled by kerosene, in case of failure.
But once the technology is proved, both engines will run on electricity from the hydrogen fuel cell.
Only the new engine needs to pass safety tests, and the company is working with the Civil Aviation Authority to achieve certification.
"It all worked smoothly on the first flight" said test pilot Jon Killerby
Test pilot Jon Killerby flew the aircraft and told me that once airborne, they have managed without the kerosene engine.
"We can throttle right back on the conventional engine," he said, "and fly purely on the hydrogen electric system, it generates enough thrust to fly the aircraft level.
"It really is amazing how well it works."
Is it really 'green'?
Hydrogen fuel cells are not new, and have been widely used in cars and trucks.
They use a chemical process called "reverse hydrolysis" which combines hydrogen with oxygen and creates heat, water vapour and, crucially, electricity.
So the on-board engine creates no greenhouse gases.
But what matters is where you get your hydrogen.
Prof Tim Mays has been studying hydrogen for thirty years
At Bath University, Prof Tim Mays has been studying hydrogen for thirty years. He runs the UK Hydrogen Research Hub which has just been awarded £11m to explore how hydrogen can help combat climate change.
He explained: "At the moment people make it by treating natural gas with steam, which is about as unsustainable as it gets."
But it is also possible to use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, using renewable electricity.
"That makes green hydrogen, which is what the aviation industry needs," said Prof Mays.
"It's a really serious option, because we do need to replace kerosene."
How big, how far?
The Dornier 228 will carry about 12 passengers with the hydrogen engine on board.
It can fly about 250-310 miles (400-500km), according to Chief Commercial Officer Sergey Kiselev.
That would get you from Bristol Airport to Newcastle, or London to Paris.
By 2027, the company plans a larger hydrogen-electric engine which would power bigger aircraft. This could carry around 50 passengers and go nearer to 620 miles (1,000 km).
What are the problems?
"Like all technologies, there are challenges," smiles Prof Mays.
"Making it, transporting it, and storing it."
The aviation industry needs to build an entirely new infrastructure. Hydrogen production centres, a network to get the fuel to airports, storage at airports, the lot. And hydrogen is very different from conventional kerosene.
Hydrogen takes up a lot of space. To carry it all manageably, the gas is compressed to 350 or 700 times atmospheric pressure.
Even then, it takes up more space than kerosene. If you want to transport it as a liquid, you must first chill it to 253 degrees below zero.
So exactly where to make it, how to move it around and store it are all being examined now by airports and aerospace firms.
Prof Mays put it like this: "You can fly using hydrogen as a fuel, but it is not optimised, not super efficient yet, and the infrastructure is not there yet."
Will airlines use hydrogen?
The hangar in the Cotswold Airport is small, and far from the big research labs of Airbus, Rolls Royce and Boeing.
But ZeroAvia already has orders for more than 1,500 of its first engine.
Air Cahana is one, a new Californian airline with "a mission to decarbonise aviation".
The company has orders for 1,500 of its hydrogen-electric engines
Another early customer is closer to home, the environmental entrepreneur Dale Vince, who founded renewable energy firm Ecotricity.
Mr Vince is launching an airline called "Ecojet", which will use the ZeroAvia engines on passenger flights, at first from Edinburgh to Southampton.
He said: "The question of how to create sustainable air travel has plagued the green movement for decades.
"The desire to travel is deeply etched into the human spirit, and flights free of C02 emissions, powered by renewable energy will allow us to explore our incredible world without harming it for the first time."
Airbus engineers are working on at least three different concepts of hydrogen-powered planes
Bigger aerospace firms are watching the small start-up with interest. Airbus has a huge research programme called ZeroE, which also uses hydrogen. The company is exploring both hydrogen fuel cells to create electricity to power propellers, and using liquid hydrogen directly for combustion.
But Airbus is aiming to have hydrogen-powered planes in the sky by 2035, a full decade later than the small ZeroAvia engines.
Sergey Kiselev told me that's why they decided not to create a completely new aircraft, but instead just change the engine on an existing plane.
He said: "It helps us eliminate all the complexity with the certification of the aircraft, we can focus only on the engine. So we can get the aircraft up into the air in commercial operations, much faster."
The company has made its pledge. It now has at least two big challenges.
One is to make its engine safe, certified, and ready to use by 2025.
They are well on their way to that one.
The other, harder, challenge, will be making sure there is some fresh new hydrogen waiting for the aircraft when it lands at the other end.
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A food sensitivity is the inability to digest a food due to an enzyme deficiency, sensitivity to a food additive or a reaction to a chemical found in the food, explains Nana Mirekuh, M.D., a board-certified allergist at TexasAllergy MD.
Food sensitivities are not life-threatening, but can be uncomfortable. Common symptoms, says Dr. Mirekuh, include gas, bloating, belly pain or diarrhea. And she says you can get away with eating a small amount of that food—like a bite of cheesecake, if you’re lactose intolerant—but eating the entire slice would cause severe discomfort.
Food Sensitivity vs. Food Intolerance vs. Food Allergy
The terms food sensitivity and food intolerance may be used interchangeably, but they aren’t the same thing, as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics warns that there’s no formal definition of food sensitivity, nor is it a medical diagnosis. A medical professional can, however, help diagnose a food intolerance based on symptoms and medical history, says Dr. Mirekuh.
Food intolerances occur when the body has trouble digesting a food or food group due to a missing enzyme used to break down the food. A reaction to food additives or naturally occurring chemicals within a food can also cause a food intolerance.
The most common food intolerance is lactose intolerance, which occurs when the body produces little or no lactase, the enzyme that breaks down sugar in milk and other dairy products. Up to 65% of the population has trouble digesting lactose after infancy .
Other common intolerances include:
- Gluten
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG), found in processed meats, canned soups and vegetables, condiments and even baked goods
- Sulfites (found in beer, wine and cider)
- Salicylates (found in some fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices)
- Caffeine.
Food allergies occur when the immune system reacts to a substance in the food it sees as harmful, typically a protein, and produces an abundance of antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE) that attach to cells in the body.
The next time the body comes into contact with that food, those cells release chemicals that cause food allergy symptoms like itching, swelling, hives, difficulty breathing (wheezing), vomiting and diarrhea. Food allergies can also trigger anaphylaxis, a severe, life-threatening reaction that needs immediate treatment.
The most common food allergens, according to the AAI, are:
- Proteins in cow’s milk
- Eggs
- Peanuts
- Wheat
- Soy
- Fish
- Shellfish
- Sesame
- Tree nuts
