Aeronautical Technologies for the Twenty-First Century

Prepared at the request of NASA, Aeronautical Technologies for the Twenty-First Century presents steps to help prevent the erosion of U.S. dominance in the global aeronautics market. The book recommends the immediate expansion of research on advanced aircraft that travel at subsonic speeds and research on designs that will meet expected future demands for supersonic and short-haul aircraft, including helicopters, commuter aircraft, "tiltrotor," and other advanced vehicle designs. These recommendations are intended to address the needs of improved aircraft performance, greater capacity to handle passengers and cargo, lower cost and increased convenience of air travel, greater aircraft and air traffic management system safety, and reduced environmental impacts. Table of Contents Front matter Executive Summary Part I - Overview, 1 Overview of the Study Part II - Status and Outlook by Industry Segment, 2 Subsonic Transport Aircraft 3 High Speed Civil Transport Aircraft 4 Short Haul Aircraft Part III - Technical Disciplines, 5 Environmental Issues 6 Operational Issues 7 Aerodynamics 8 Propulsion 9 Materials and Structures 10 Avionics and Controls 11 Cognitive Engineering Appendix A: Bibliography Appendix B: Abbreviations and Acronyms Appendix C: NASA Fiscal year 1992 Aeronautics Funding (Table) Appendix D: Participants Index