Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-c654p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-26T00:33:02.519Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The development of aircraft as influenced by the shortage of materials and fuel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

H. A. Goldsmith*
Affiliation:
British Aircraft Corporation, Commercial Aircraft Division

Extract

The general subject of this session is the effect of shortages of raw materials on the development of aircraft. It is most important at the outset to distinguish between two related but essentially different situations.

  • (a) A genuine shortage in which the material in question just cannot be obtained in anything approaching adequate quantities.

  • (b) A situation in which, for some reason or other (possibly associated with some moderate limitation in supply), the price of the material increases rapidly.

In either case there is a pressure to reduce the amount of the material that is used, but in the first case one must do so almost regardless of cost or operational effects, while in the second case purely economic and competitive considerations apply. This is most clearly illustrated in the case of fuel—I shall show later in this paper that we could hope to achieve very large savings in fuel usage— perhaps as high as 40%—in a new generation of aircraft, but some of this saving can only come at the cost of reduced speed, reduced operational flexibility or increased complexity. The major decision that must be made is how far along this line should we go—nevertheless, if we are to have the freedom to make that decision we must continue to pursue with all energy the R & D necessary to achieve the maximum improvements.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1974 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Meadows, , Meadows, , Randers, and Bahrens, . The limits to growth.Google Scholar
2. Edwards, , Brian, , Kirkpatrick, and Edwards, . A forecast of CTOL transport aircraft developments including the effect of a fuel price increase. RAE Tech Memo Aero 1529.Google Scholar
3. Dawson, L. G. and Sills, T. D. The changing environment and propulsion. Anglo American Conference, June 1973.Google Scholar
4. Cohen, William. New horizons and chemical propulsion. Aeronautics and Astronautics, December 1973.Google Scholar