The Competitive Status of the U.S. Civil Aviation Manufacturing Industry: A Study of the Influences of Technology in Determining International Industrial Competitive Advantage (1985)

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COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGY 106 AIRFRAME AND FULLY ASSEMBLED AIRCRAFT The following technologies associated with the airframe and fully assembled aircraft have been identified as fundamental to the future competitive posture of U.S. civil aviation: 1. Design techniques Advanced computational analysis Design optimization and integration (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture—CAD/CAM) 2. Aerodynamics Active boundary layer management (including laminar flow control) 3. Flight controls Relaxed stability (reduced tail and wing size) Active controls (wingload alleviation and flutter suppression) 4. Advanced structures Advanced metallic alloys (including superplastic forming) Metal bonding techniques Composite structures 5. Propulsion integration Integrated engine/nacelle/air frame Advanced propellers and gearboxes 6. Avionics Ultrareliable, fault-tolerant systems Advanced flight decks ("all glass cockpit") Computer-integrated flight management The combination of the key technologies listed above, when fully integrated into an all-new aircraft design, could improve its fuel efficiency by as much as 30 to 50 percent—and some industry experts are even more optimistic. During the past 20 years, the propulsion system provided the most significant gains. In the next 20 years, the propulsion system will again provide improvements, but they will be accompanied by improvements in aerodynamics, structures, avionics, controls, and systems. Figure 5-1, adapted from a paper by NASA, illustrates how these technology improvements can be combined over the remainder of this century to produce these large benefits. The propulsion system gain does not include the effects of advanced turboprops or propfans, which could provide an additional 20 percent improvement. If the recently conceived unducted fan concept is successful propfans would achieve improvements in efficiency of 30 to 35 percent. The viability of future new civil aircraft will depend on the ability to develop and implement these technologies in a cost-effective and timely manner.