Aeronautical Technologies for the Twenty-First Century (1992) / Chapter Skim
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4 Short Haul Aircraft
4 Short Haul Aircraft
Pages 73-94
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From page 73... ...
In each section, items common to more than one category of short-haul aircraft are discussed first, followed by items specifically applicable to the individual aircraft categones. The boxed material summarizes the primary recommendations that appear throughout the chapter, with specific recommendations given in order of priority, and the benefits that can be expected from research and development efforts devoted to short-hau!
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From page 74... ...
......... 220,000 short-haul aircraft in the United States, making up 98 percent of the total civil aviation fleet.5 Short-haul aircraft operations are projected to continue to grow with expansion of the national economy and growth of population and industry in communities remote from urban centers.
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From page 75... ...
SHORT HAUL AIRCRAFT 75 .2.",~.~.' ~': -- ~2.,2, ','2,.".,,'., '~'""'''"'''~'~'~'~'~:~11 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~l,_~ 1 Bias ................................................................................................................................................
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From page 76... ...
The Commuter Market The commuters (regional airlines) provide air service to and from small- and medium-size communities.
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From page 77... ...
SHORT HAUL AIRCRAFT TABLE 4-1(A) Short-Haul Aircraft Delivered, by Region (as of February 1, 199 1)
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From page 78... ...
78 AERONAUTICAL TECHNOLOGIES TABLE 4-1(B) Short-Haul Aircraft on Order, by Region (as of February 1, 1991)
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From page 79... ...
A newly formed European consortium led by Deutsche Aerospace, along with Aerospatiale and Alenia, seeks to bring together a family of existing and new aircraft types to meet nearly all the requirements of regional airlines. This organization would parallel the Airbus Industries consortium which has complete medium- and long-haul product lines.
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From page 80... ...
Scheduled passenger operations have been successful only where geographic barriers and lack of airports prevent ground transportation or fixed-wing aircraft from operating effectively. Still, a steady growth of civil helicopter markets is projected.9 The value of the worldwide civil helicopter production in 1990 was $1.0 billion and is projected to grow at an average rate of about 7 percent annually (Figure 4-21.
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From page 81... ...
They are expected to increase to about $700 million annually by the mid-199Os, due in part to increased export of civil helicopters. Most civil helicopters, especially medium- and large-sized craft, are derivatives of military aircraft.
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From page 82... ...
The General Aviation Market General aviation consists of the civil f~xed-wing fleet, including business jets but excluding scheduled air carriers and noncertificated types. Thus, general aviation aircraft range from two-place trainers to wide-body turbofans used in business.
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From page 83... ...
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From page 84... ...
MARKET FORECAST The growing population and the increasing demand for air transportation of people and goods are projected to continue the need for expansion of short-haul air transport in all categories. The need for short-haul service is increased further by mounting pressures to decentralize industry and population from troubled urban centers where it is costly to operate.
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From page 85... ...
airline traffic. Foreign manufacturers are expected to continue to dominate the supply of commuter airplanes for more than 20 passengers, unless the structure and requirements of the regional carriers change significantly.
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From page 86... ...
The potential of advanced VTOL aircraft in commuter operations and other sectors of the air transportation system is discussed in more detail in the next section. Forecast for Rotorcraft Civil use of rotorcraft is presently limited by external noise constraints, operating costs, lack of public heliports and associated ATM systems, and the perception that rotorcraft are less safe than conventional aircraft.
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From page 87... ...
Currendy and In the near term, military agencies of the major powers will provide air transport resources for disaster relief. In the longer term, it appears that a vertical lift disaster relief force built around a~r-transportable, advanced rotorcraft could provide major advancement In International disaster relief.
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From page 88... ...
A significantly improved low-cost power plant to replace the piston engine is an example of the type of technology that could rejuvenate light aircraft design and manufacturing. BARRIERS The Committee believes that the biggest barrier to meeting future needs for short-haul air transport is the complex and costly airspace and airport traffic management system.
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From page 89... ...
Even with current technology, noise can be reduced by designing for lower tip speeds and lower disk loadings, but this further penalizes efficiency and productivity. Steep-gradient curvilinear operations can reduce the noise footprint considerably and help avoid noise-sensitive areas, but this introduces instrument flight rules, flight path control, and ATM system challenges.
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From page 90... ...
and $5.2 million for "advanced rotorcraft technology." The remaining $3.0 million was spent on propulsion technology for general aviation and commuter aircraft. Although the Committee believes that development and validation of rotorcraft technology is a worthwhile goal, and recognizes that much of He technology developed for larger subsonic aircraft will apply to commuter and general aviation aircraft, He nation would certainly benefit from a more balanced short-haul program.
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From page 91... ...
However, developing the technologies that lead to cost-effective aircraft is a proper role. Thus, development of a technology that promotes longer aircraft lifetimes, reduces engine fuel consumption, improves lift-to-drag ratios, reduces structural weight, or improves passenger comfort through reduction in noise or vibration levels can and should be undertaken by NASA.
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From page 92... ...
Areas In which NASA can provide significant contributions are: position determination and flight path guidance; traffic awareness and collision avoidance, both In the air and on the ~round: and availability of real-time weather information for the flight crew. 7 ~ Advancements In computational capabilities and the maturation of new technologies such as satellite navigation, advanced Doppler radar, and satellite communications can be applied to provide a quantum improvement in the system.
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From page 93... ...
Some of the items that should be included are cognitive engineering, flying qualities, departure from controlled flight and shinning. Another major contribution needed from NASA toward general aviation safeW is the development of the basic technology for advanced low-cost on-board systems, including flight path guidance and control, information transfer, traffic awareness and collision avoidance, arid real-time weaker presentation.
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From page 94... ...
94 AERONAUTICAL TECHNOLOGIES engineering, and advanced avionics. Each category of aircraft considered in this section will require avarices in performance to remain viable in future markets.
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