Abstract:
The rapid escalation of air transport in the past two
decades has resulted in difficulties associated with airport
congestion and ground trip delays. These have been particularly
acute for short haul operations. Suggestions have been made
that they might be alleviated by the use of smaller airfields
located nearer to population centres than existing large
airports which operate aircraft specifically designed for the
purpose. This paper reports a systematic investigation of the
requirements, design parameters and performance characteristics
of short haul transport aircraft. Designs intended for operation-
in the VTOL, STOL, RTOL or CTOL modes have been considered and
compared in an attempt to predict the more promising prospects
for the future. A number of specific design studies were used
as the basis for the comparison of the weight, economic and
noise characteristics of the
aircraft concepts which fall into
the categories investigated.