Out of the box : Ideas about the future of air transport. Part 2.
Date: 2008-01-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: air transport, research policy, research programme, research project

The Out of the Box initiative was funded by the European Commission DG-RTD in the frame of the Advisory 
Council for Aeronautic Research in Europe (ACARE).
The  initiative  aimed  at  identifying  innovative,  discontinuous,  revolutionary  and  radical  concepts  and 
technologies for air transport of the future.
The  Out  of  the  Box  project  had  two  phases.  In  phase  one,  creative  ideas  and  concepts  were  identified.  In 
phase 2, these ideas were assessed based on their feasibility in terms of customer acceptance, economics, 
efficiency and technologies.
A limited number of ideas were identified as having the best potential to achieve radical changes. The topics 
include  novel  sustainable  propulsion  concepts  and  the  use  of  ground  power  to  increase  the  efficiency  of 
flying,  autonomous  guidance  and  control  for  air  vehicles,  personal  air  transport  systems,  novel  ways  to 
connect people with aircraft and the concept of the airborne cruiser and its feeder aircraft.
The Out of the Box initiative enables a more structured approach for thinking about radical changes in Air 
Transport on a European level.
It also provides a mechanism for other transport modes to gather ideas about the longer term future and to 
promote radical changes in those sectors.

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Interested in European research? 
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Out of the Box - Ideas about the future of air transport (Part  2) 

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2007 — 90 pp. — 21.0 x 29.7 cm

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION
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Directorate H – Transport
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Contact: Enzo Gueli
European Commission
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B-1049 Brussels
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Out Of The Box
Ideas about the future of air transport
Part 2

Edited by T. Truman and A. de Graaff

November 2007

This report has been produced under contract from ACARE and funded by the European Commission. 
The report was printed by the European Commission services.

 The Commission is not responsible for the contents nor necessarily supports the views expressed in the report.

2007

Directorate-General for Research 
ACARE

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... 

Table of contents

Section 

1.  Executive summary 
2.  Introduction to out of the box 
3.  The part 2 Task 
4.  The Assessment Workshop 
5.  The selected projects 
6.  Conclusions 
7.  Recommendations 

Appendices 

A.  The Assessment Team 
B.  The original 100 Ideas 
C.  short List of the 2 projects selected  for Assessment 
D.  Technology Areas of the six selected projects 

p. 7
p. 9
p. 1
p. 17
p. 21
p. 
p. 7

p. 9	
p. 41
p. 4
p. 79
p. 81

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‘As a result of the Out 

of the Box project, a 

systematic approach 

was developed to 

stimulate radical and 

novel ideas for air 

transport.’

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1. 

Executive
Summary

due to concern over the progress of innovation in air transport, the European Commission funded the 
out of the box project to identify potential new concepts and technologies for future air transport. The 
project focused on a number of radical changes to the system rather than taking incremental steps.

during the first part of the project, 100 ideas were generated. These are described in part1of the report. 
The ideas were then assessed in a workshop event during the second part of the project and the most 

promising ones were then developed further. 

‘As a result of the Out 
of the Box project, a 
systematic approach 
was developed to 
stimulate radical and 
novel ideas for air 
transport.’

The  assessment  resulted  in  six  promising  ideas,  covering  alternative 
propulsion, Global ATs, the cruiser/feeder type of long range transport, 
ground assisted take-off and landing, personal air travel and advanced 
systems for airports.

The  technological  content  of  these  concepts  were  then  reviewed  and 
identified.  The  results  were  supplied  to  the  European  Commission  so 
that some of the technological issues could be incorporated into the work programme of the seventh 
framework programme (fp7).

A  consequence  of  looking  far  into  the  future  for  radical  solutions  is  that  some  may  take  a  long  time 
to come to fruition. Therefore, some type of incubator mechanism should be set up within Europe to 
help such fundamental knowledge develop. The fp7 is one possible mechanism that could provide this 
incubator environment. It is hoped that universities and research establishments will understand the 
importance of the development of ground-breaking technologies and will join forces to enable them to 
be realised.

As  a  result  of  the  out  of  the  box  project,  a  systematic  approach  was  developed  to  stimulate  radical 
and novel ideas for air transport. future workshops and in-house research by European air transport 
stakeholders could lead to additional ideas that, once assessed, could provide additional opportunities 
to support and develop new ideas for the air transport system of the future.

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

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2. 

Introduction to 
Out of the Box

2.1  The initiation of Out of the Box

The concept behind out of the box goes back to the period before the preparation of the Vision 2020 
Report by the Group of personalities. It was conceived that some part of the integrated research 
agenda that was then being discussed should be devoted to looking towards the longer term and to 
more radical solutions. The Vision 2020 Report was followed by the establishment of the Advisory 
Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe, which had the task of publishing the first and second 
strategic Research Agendas. 

2.1.1 

2.1.2 

2.1. 

however, during the late 1990s a great deal of work was required to get the integrated 
concept process moving as well as the main part of the research programme that dealt 
with more evolutionary and incremental research.

In the spring of 200, the mainstream development programme was well under way and 
its extension of the JTI “Clean sky” was mooted. The European Commission proposed that 
a limited exercise should be carried out under the auspices of AsTERA, the management 
support group of ACARE run from the Asd organisation. proposals were made for a pilot 
exercise called “out of the box” to be run in late 200 and early 2007. The project was 
divided into two parts, the first of which  was completed in 200. This involved creative 
and original thinking, with the first workshop resulting in 100 ideas (Annex b). 

The  second  part  of  the  process  concentrated  on  assessing  and  developing  the  ideas 
produced  in  part  1.  This  was  completed  in  time  for  a  preliminary  report  to  be  sent  to 
the  European  Commission  by  the  summer  of  2007.  Each  part  had  its  own  report,  with 
the report for part 1 being published in late 200. It was used to help disseminate the 
concept of out of the box thinking both within the aviation community and elsewhere in 
the transport sector.

2.2  An outline of the concept

The concept of the out of the box thinking is fully set out in the part 1 Report, but for the purposes 
of reading this report as a self-contained document, it is repeated here in summary.
Aviation is constantly changing. Three factors drive this change: the demands of the market, new 
technology, and changes in the circumstances of the aviation system.

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The first two produce a characteristic “era” of development. Within each era, development continues 
mainly through the gradual improvement of something that already exists. The leap from one era 
to another is undertaken in order to meet new and foreseen circumstances for the aviation system. 
This requires new ways of thinking that cannot wholly be built into pre-existing structures. We can 
think of this leap, or discontinuity of thought as an innovation threshold. What lies beyond will be 
new, different and, in some respects at least, unconnected with what went before.

This  move  to  a  new  era  is  a  result  of  changing  circumstances  for  aviation  services.  Today,  we 
see that global warming can become a force for change. other factors can include segmentation 
in the market, hydrocarbon fuel availability, a change such as moving towards globalisation and 
then withdrawing from it, and the pressures of congestion or mass 
migration. Each of these, either individually or joined with others, 
has the power to force a change in circumstances and to alter the 
conditions  that  govern  the  air  transport  system.  such  a  change 
would require several new concepts to be available.

Connections  with  the  past  will  always  remain  and  the  laws  of 
physics  will  continue  to  impose  their  strict  discipline  on  what  is 
possible. The infrastructure of the past will take many generations 
to  replace  while  the  human  resources  involved  in  the  global  air 
transport system cannot be changed overnight and new designs 
take  many  years  to  come  to  fruition.  The  system  has,  in  the 
jargon,  both  a  high  inertia  and  a  long  time  constant.  Therefore, 
the transition to another era is not sudden and rapid but instead 
evolves gradually.

‘However, uncertainty 
is no reason for 
inactivity. The changes 
that we can expect will 
demand new thinking 
and fresh solutions. 
If they turn out 
differently from what 
we expected, we should 
still be ready with new 
solutions.’

Given the inability to make sudden changes, the situation for any new era needs to be considered 
many  years  in  advance.    This  should  be  reflected  in  the  planning  and  preparation  that  heralds 

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era  major  change.  These  preparations  are  made  more  difficult  because  the  circumstances  that 
will apply in, say, 40-0 years’ time are themselves uncertain. several possibilities may present 
themselves; some may seem more likely than others, but only from our current perspective. how 
the future will unfold remains unknown.

however, uncertainty is no reason for inactivity. The changes that we can expect will demand new 
thinking and fresh solutions. If they turn out differently from what we expected, we should still be 
ready with new solutions. This implies being prepared for a number of possibilities and to consider 
the need for radical change, which will be a feature of the new era. Innovative, one-off, revolutionary 
and far-reaching solutions need to be considered against possible changes in circumstances. That 
is what the out of the box project seeks to initiate.

2.3  The process of innovation

To describe innovation as a process may be to risk implying that it is a manageable, regular and 
consistent activity, which it is not. As a process it is irregular, spasmodic, and chaotic. nevertheless, 
innovation can be understood as a way of acquiring new ideas and then working on them until the 
desired results are achieved. 

The process begins with indiscriminately collecting, from any available source, as many ideas as 
possible for new concepts and innovations. Many, usually most, will fail at an early stage and many 
more  will  fail  after  some  work  has  been  put  into  them.  only  a  few  will  make  it  to  the  point  of 
providing innovative solutions on the ground and in the air. This is the divergent phase which was 
reported on in part 1.

Just like a newborn infant, a new idea can be quickly destroyed by hostility and lack of sustenance 
before  it  is  capable  of  fighting  for  its  own  survival.  some  nursery  mechanism  is  required  if  the 
premature death of ideas is to be limited. We can think of this as an “ideas incubator”, which fulfils 
the same role as for infants, sustaining them while their strength develops. It is a period when a 
promising  idea  is  guarded  from  the  most  violent  attacks,  particularly  on  its  funding,  so  that  its 
worth and potential can be properly assessed. funds do not allow every idea to be protected in this 

‘However, uncertainty 

is no reason for 

inactivity. The changes 

that we can expect will 

demand new thinking 

and fresh solutions. 

If they turn out 

differently from what 

we expected, we should 

still be ready with new 

solutions.’

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way and the filtering out of the least promising ones must occur at every stage. Those ideas that 
survive after a period in the incubator will be re-assessed for their viability in the mainstream of 
research and then again for their suitability for deployment.

The picture shows the actual development of a supercritical airfoil 
in the netherlands in terms of time, funding source and amount of 
money. The initial incubation period lasted some four years.

‘The submission of the 
Out of the Box project 
is, however, that 
evolutionary thinking 
alone is not sufficient 
and there needs to be 
a radical element to 
our research, for it is 
on these radical and 
revolutionary ideas 
that future necessary 
changes in the concept 
of operations of 
aviation will depend.’

This then is a summary of out of the box thinking. It emphasises 
the  radical  and  the  innovative,  the  one-off  and  the  challenging. 
It  is  essential  to  remember  that  this  kind  of  thinking  must 
always  be  associated  with  the  more  conventional,  evolutionary, 
progressive  developments,  for  these  will  always  absorb  most  of 
the  effort  and  funding.  Evolutionary  development  is  necessary 
and  desirable;  necessary  because  some  things  only  yield  to  the 
steady advances that this approach brings. It is desirable because 
gradual  progression  is  usually  more  economic  than  radical 
change. The submission of the out of the box project is, however, 
that evolutionary thinking alone is not sufficient and there needs 
to be a radical element to our research, for it is on these radical and revolutionary ideas that future 
necessary changes in the concept of operations of aviation will depend. 

‘The project was 

built around a desire 

to encourage more 

innovative, radical 

and far-sighted ideas 

than were typical 

of mainstream, 

evolutionary research.’

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‘The submission of the 

Out of the Box project 

is, however, that 

evolutionary thinking 

alone is not sufficient 

and there needs to be 

a radical element to 

our research, for it is 

on these radical and 

revolutionary ideas 

that future necessary 

changes in the concept 

of operations of 

aviation will depend.’

3. 

The Part 2 Task

3.1  The assessment objective

.1.1 

.1.2 

part 2 of the out of the box project encompassed the convergent processes needed to 
bring 100 ideas from Workshop 1 down to a manageable number and to select some for 
recommendation to the European Commission.

‘The project was 
built around a desire 
to encourage more 
innovative, radical 
and far-sighted ideas 
than were typical 
of mainstream, 
evolutionary research.’

The  overall  objectives  of  the  project  were  to  advise  on  process  experience  for  this 
preliminary contract and to make specific recommendations regarding possible incubation. 
It needed to be recognised that this project had (a) not been carried out 
before on this scale in Europe and (b) not set out to introduce a complete 
innovation  system.  It  was  important  to  the  European  Commission  to 
gain experience from this contract so that a more comprehensive and 
inclusive  system  could  be  considered  on  the  basis  of  some  practical 
work  in  the  field.  At  the  same  time,  the  Commission  wanted  to  gain 
specific  and  direct  recommendations  from  the  process  that  could  be 
used  to  inject  forward-looking  initiatives  into  the  second  Call  of  the 
seventh  framework  programme  (fp7).  however,  it  was  clear  from 
the  outset  that  evolutionary  research  should  continue  to  be  the  main 
effort in fp7 and that the funds available for innovative and forward -
looking programmes would be limited. It was necessary to submit only a limited number 
of recommendations from this project.

.1. 

The  project  was  built  around  a  desire  to  encourage  more  innovative,  radical  and  far-
sighted ideas than were typical of mainstream, evolutionary research. It was an inherent 
intention and there was hope that it would be possible to find some ideas that fitted this 
implicit model. The team therefore intended, if possible, to submit ideas to the Commission 
that:
 •  were radical rather than evolutionary;
 •  were forward-looking rather than immediate in application;
 •  had specific technology challenges;
 •  offered a prospect of significant benefits to the air transport system following the aims 

of the strategic Research objective and Vision 2020;
 •  offered the prospect of substantial impacts and benefits.

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.1.4 

This preliminary list of possible assessment criteria was deliberately left open pending 
the  assembly  of  a  team  of  assessors  who  would  collectively  consider  the  best  way  to 
reduce the 100 ideas to a more manageable number.

3.2  Assessor team

Assessors were invited from within and from outside the aviation community. The final choice of 
assessors is listed in Annex A.

3.3  The assessable material

..1 

..2 

The basic material with which the assessors worked was the 100 ideas from out of the 
box part 1. This is reproduced as Annex b. This list was reduced prior to the assessment 
by a preliminary assessment made by the team of assessors. This assessment was made 
against a weighted set of criteria:
 •  potential benefits for the Air Transport system (0-)
 •  Likelihood of public acceptance (0-)
 •  Radical content (0-)
 •  physics credibility (0-)
 •  Timescale for incubation (0-4)
 •  The achievement reached in the incubator (0-4)
 •  Related and supporting capabilities (0-)

With this set of criteria, each of the 100 ideas, in its original text, was assessed by the 
group  invited  to  the  workshop.  This  assessment  was  carried  out  before  the  workshop 
by each individual. not all assessments were available at the time of analysis. from a 
maximum individual score of 29 some ideas scored very highly – one assessor scoring 
some at 28 points. others scored very poorly, only achieving ratings of six or seven points. 
A number of key issues arose from these preliminary assessments.
 •  Individual markings varied from assessor to assessor with considerable variation.
 •  The assessors made different choices for the best and worst ideas.
 •  This resulted in marked variation in the projects most favoured.

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It appeared that individual assessor’s interpretation of the criteria had had a considerable effect on the 
scores, as revealed by later discussion. 

.. 

The  100  ideas  were  reduced  to  2  as  a  result  of  this  first  exercise.  This  was  achieved 
by first selecting the 10 top scoring ideas from each assessor.  These were plotted on a 
chart and citations recorded for 4 ideas, which was only a modest narrowing of focus. 
however,  some  of  these  ideas  had  multiple  citations  and  were  clearly  favoured  by  a 
number  of  assessors.  It  was  decided  to  select  only  those  ideas  that  had  two  or  more 
citations i.e. only taking those ideas that had the most basic of collective support with 2 or 
more appearances in the top 10 selections of 10 assessors. This reduced the number to 
2, which seemed a reasonable number for the assessor group to discuss in their plenary 
sessions. This list is reproduced in Annex C where the ideas have been re-arranged into 
the appropriate groupings.

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4. 

The Assessment 
Workshop

4.1  Objectives

4.1.1  The  fundamental  objective  of  part  2  of  the  out  of  the  box  project  was  to  produce  specific 
recommendations for the European Commission, which they could then use to influence the 
2nd Call of fp7. These recommendations needed to address the innovative purpose of the 
project,  recognise  the  structure  of  fp7  and  the  need  of  the  Commission  to  translate  the 
selected concepts into a format capable of being phrased into Calls for proposals.

4.1.2  secondary objectives included:

 •  making  recommendations  to  the  Commission  about  the  processes  used  and  their 

further development;

 •  reporting  to  the  ACARE  community  on  the  results  of  the  project  in  terms  of  ideas 

chosen and recommendations made;

 •  disseminating  the  outcome  of  the  whole  project  to  other  sectors  with  an  interest  in 

innovative process development.

4.2  Methods of convergence

4.2.1  The  initial  discussions  of  the  assessor  plenary  workshop  revealed  a  considerable  diver-
gence  of  opinion.  In  discussion  much  of  this  turned  out  to  be  differences  of  emphasis  or 
interpretation,  rather  than  fundamental  differences  of  position.  Language  is  essential  to 
understanding in these matters and it is a tribute to all those assessors working in a second 
language that so much progress was made. 

4.2.2  To begin with we carried out a simple mapping exercise for the main criteria proposed by the 
group  i.e. technology, meeting society’s needs, and improving European competitiveness.  
This,  in  turn,  raised  more  issues  including  the  question  of  weighting.  This  resulted  in  a 
number of alternative weighting and marking schemes being discussed. some were simply 
weighted in favour of the more important aspects, while others embodied double marking 
schemes for relevance and impact. The discussion also raised deeper questions regarding 
the  criteria  and  what  they  really  meant  to  convey.  As  the  discussion  continued,  it  became 
obvious that it was through such debates that the greatest clarity could be achieved. purely 
arithmetic marking schemes lost out through differences in interpretation and language; this 
gave a result that was clearly distorted and so gained little general support. debate, however, 

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gave each individual the opportunity to articulate their concerns and through discussion to 
reconcile misunderstandings that would otherwise have been carried over into the marking.

4.3  Discussions of the short list

4..1  The outcome of the marking debate was to propose a clarification of the list, as some ideas 
had close similarities or relationships with others.  This discussion resulted in a new short 
list  in  which  20  of  the  original  2  ideas  had  been  incorporated  into  a  new  set  of  11  newly 
combined, phrased concepts. This discussion had, in effect, only eliminated  of the 2 ideas 
that it started with. The three ideas eliminated were:

•  new materials – on the grounds that much was already being done and the proposal 

• 

was insufficiently specific at this stage;
transparent fuselage sections – because this was too limited in its impact and would 
not have a major social or competitiveness effect;

•  remote check-in – because this was more or less embodied in other schemes and in 

its essential form was already being put into practice.

4..2  despite this limited reduction, the assessors believed that progress had been made although 

more work was needed on the 11 newly-developed ideas.

4.4  Outcome to Short List B

4.4.1  The resulting short list of 11 concepts comprised the following:

formation flight for power reduction;

•  an examination of new primary energy sources for propulsive power;
•  distributed propulsive power and control functions;
•  glider-like aircraft with low power consumption;
• 
•  connecting the passenger to the aircraft as a process;
•  off-shore airports and flying boats;
•  door-to-door journey ticketing;
•  personal air transport systems;
•  global, seamless and autonomous ATs;
•  cruiser/feeder concept;
•  ground-assisted take-off and landing.

4.5  Discussions of the short list

4..1  There  was  a  general  discussion  about  the  progress  being  made.    The  moderator  pointed 
out to the assessors that they had eliminated very few of the original ideas. What was now 
needed was for the list to be reduced to a handful of recommendations. To begin with, the 
assessors found it extremely difficult to eliminate any of the 11 candidates, while at the same 
time finding it very easy to justify why each of the concepts discussed should be included.

4..2  A different tactic was tried in an attempt to force a more decisive result, with the assessors 
being asked to nominate those concepts least likely to make the short list. This seemed to 
provide the impetus needed and it was relatively easy to arrive at a final list of six ideas. The 
process  was  repeated  at  each  decision  in  order  to  force  a  group  consensus  regarding  the 
weakest of the remaining candidates for the shortlist. The process sometimes needed to be 
forced along by the moderator presenting a decision for consideration. The process was not 
structured, nor was it scientific, but it had the benefit of involving the whole group and served 
to expand on each of the concepts as one member or another of the group argued the case 
for or against.

4..  The previous short list of 11 was eventually reduced by . The concepts put “below the line” 

were:

•  distributed propulsion and control: The argument in favour was that there was some 
evidence that distributed propulsion might be more efficient for many smaller engines. 
This  was  debated  and  challenged  and  it  was  conceded  that  multiple  engines  might 
be shown to be more efficient, although not for gas turbines where greater size had 

1

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brought greater, not less, efficiency. The group thought, however, that the geometry of 
having many small engines would prove a major difficulty since each one needed to be 
in the air stream to exert its propulsion in a near optimal manner. It was not possible 
to  consider  whether  this  could  be  achieved  with  novel  propulsion  systems  from  the 
abstract provided and the idea would need to be more specific before a comparative 
analysis  could  be  made,  trading  off  engine  size  against  overall  effectiveness.  The 
argument  against  pursuing  distributed  control  seemed  to  be  a  little  different.  here 
the case was made that to some degree this was already possible. developments in 
control systems and especially in data handling devices would probably require further 
development and whilst a project could have been defined, the group did not think this 
would be a suitable candidate for incubation.

•  glider-like aircraft: This concept envisaged a major improvement in the fuel consumed 
per RpK through the greater efficiency of the design and the consumption of much less 
power. The discussion recognised that aircraft could probably be designed with these 
attributes although with some major challenges regarding airliner size. The difficulty 
that  a  number  of  assessors  had  with  the  concept  was  that  the  inevitable  reduction 
of speed would make the economic justification increasingly difficult to justify unless 
there was a major shift in the economic or environmental cost of fuel. As in all of these 
short-listed candidates, the assessors believed that a credible project could be defined 
that would benefit from incubation, but in ranking the project alongside others, it failed 
to make the final short list.

• 

formation flight: This had several aspects embedded within it. There was a perceived 
ATM  benefit  in  dealing  with  clusters  of  aircraft  rather  than  individuals.  The  term 
“formation  flying”  was  also  taken  to  include  both  free  flying  in  formation  and  the 
ability to dock an aircraft into a cluster. The benefits envisaged would include reduced 
fuel consumption from the flock or cluster of aircraft. The assessors thought that the 
docking elements of the idea could be better employed by the cruiser/feeder concept 
where this aspect would need to be addressed anyway. The free-flight formation flying 
had several interesting challenges, both technical and operational, but the assessors 
favoured other projects above this one.

•  off-shore airports and flying boats: These two ideas had been combined so that they 
could be considered together. The argument for this concept was that as populated 
areas  became  more  densely  built-up  the  land  available  for  airports  would  become 
progressively harder to assign. The environmental impact of airports would grow in 
relative importance as this happened. At the same time, a very large part of the world’s 
population lived relatively near to the sea or to major waterways and this area could be 
utilised with major environmental and operational benefits. The benefits of using flying 
boats  for  freight  deliveries  to  and  from  dock  areas  were  emphasised.  The  concept 
could  be  extended  to  one  in  which  major  hub  airports  could  be  located    at  sea,  not 
necessarily close to shore. This idea would not involve flying boats as a key element. 
The assessors discussed this at length and could see that a worthwhile study could be 
formed around these ideas. however, off-shore airports in littoral waters are already 
being built and civil engineers could probably build any kind of deep-sea structure that 
had clear economic drivers. This led the team to place this particular idea below the 
recommendation line. 

•  door-to-door Journey tickets: The original motivation behind this concept was to allow 
passengers an integrated choice. In discussion, however, the concept was expanded 
to include the whole transport sector.  In many places, different modes of transport 
compete with one another but on different terms. The tax and regulation regime  was 
generally  not  considered  for  transport  as  a  whole  but  for  each  type  of  transport  in 
isolation.  under  these  circumstances,  the  influence  of  government  was  dissipated 
by  allowing  competition  on  grounds  that  did  not  align  with  governments’  declared 

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ambitions. door-to-door tickets were a kind of shorthand for a completely fresh look 
at the benefits of a more integrated view of transport particularly in those areas where 
they  overlapped,  competed  or  worked  in  complementary  ways.  This  might  lead  in 
due course to an integrated set of “rules” under which individual modes of transport 
could be encouraged or restricted by encouraging passengers in a different way. This 
concept was discussed in some depth and it was clear that an interesting and useful 
project could be defined. however, in the final considerations it failed to reach the final 
short list.

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5. 

The Selected 
Projects

The selected projects can be described as follows:

•  Aircraft  propulsion:  To  investigate  new  approaches  and  system  analyses  to  the 
issues attendant upon a possible new primary source of propulsive aircraft power, its 
provision, use, distribution, etc.

•  Globalised  and  seamless  ATs:  A  study  of  the  implications,  risks,  technologies 
and  possibilities  of  an  Air  Transport  system  operating  on  a  global,  seamless  and 
autonomous basis.

•  Cruiser/feeder: The concept envisages a series of very large aircraft flying on stable 
circuitous routes that connect major centers of population in one of several patterns. 
These large cruisers would remain airborne for very long periods so that they could be 
considered to be permanently cycling around their designated route.

•  The use of Ground power sources: This concept takes as its motivation the reduction 
in the installed power or installed systems on the aircraft as a means to reduce weight 
and fuel consumption.

•  personal Air Transport systems: Ideas exist to enable individual air transport in order 
to avoid the ever increasing congestion on European roads and to offer an alternative 
for the current transport system in new European Member states.

•  Connecting  people  with  Aircraft:  Concerns  the  system  used  to  process  passengers 
and their baggage from arrival at an airport to being seated in the aircraft ready for 
departure. The usual experience of the passenger now is to go from one process to 
another, from check-in to baggage deposit to emigration to security and so on in ways 
that do not appear to be connected or integrated.

The projects are described in more details below: 

5.1  Project 1 – aircraft propulsion after gas turbines (ideas 42 and 43) 

.1.1  This idea was the amalgamation of a number of related topics put forward in part 1. The ideas 
centred around two particular aspects of possible future scenarios. firstly, that fossil fuel 
costs may continue to rise and make alternative fuels and a significant increase in efficiency 
imperative and, secondly, that energy sources of a quite different nature might be needed. 
for both reasons it was thought that a replacement should be sought for the traditional gas 
turbine in its present advanced form.

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.1.2  The assessors’ discussion made it clear that a fundamental view should be taken with regard 
to the propulsion system. It would be desirable, for example, that energy should make the 
most efficient and direct transition from fuel to forward motion. Whilst the gas turbine is the 
most effective solution that we have today, its overall efficiency is only average. The discussion 
also noted that all energy sources should be considered.  Although it was accepted that some 
would be relatively easy to relegate, it was thought that this was in itself a valuable part of 
the study. The availability of all the energy supplies examined should also be investigated, as 
should their delivery and the disposal of any residue. The environmental aspects of different 
energy sources should also be examined as part of the assessment.

.1.  The assessors thought that whilst primary energy sources should be examined, it would also 

be important to consider hybrid energy systems, possibly working in new ways.

.1.4  It  was  not  the  task  of  the  assessors  to  come  up  with  solutions  to  these  challenges  and, 
by  and  large,  this  was  avoided.  nevertheless,  during  the  discussion  it  became  clear  that 
the assessors thought that the research should be ground-breaking and should not address 
any schemes that were already fully funded. Examples of the latter included fuel cells, and 
advanced gas turbines, amongst others. 

.1.  The challenge as formulated by the assessor group was:

‘To investigate new approaches and apply system analyses to the issues attendant upon a 
possible new primary source of propulsive aircraft power, its provision, use, distribution etc’.

Technology Aspects:

.1.  A wide range of technologies may be covered by the project. This assessment can only indicate 
the areas where expertise is most likely to be needed. (This caveat also applies to the other 
projects examined here).

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.1.7  The study would certainly need a range of aeronautic technologies to deal with the output 
needs for propulsive power and to reconcile the issues of lift, drag, weight and their dynamic 
interaction.  basic  physical  laws  are  used  to  consider  the  transition  of  energy  from  one 
state  to  another.  Conversion  means  might  well  involve  mechanical  and  electrical  design 
and the resultant designs would need to be considered for their integration into the aircraft 
structure. 

5.2  Project 2 – globalised and seamless ATS (ideas 5, 6 and13)

.2.1  during the discussion, the project was provisionally defined as: ‘A study of the implications, 
risks, technologies and possibilities of an air transport system operating on a global, seamless 
and autonomous basis.’

.2.2  The future air transport system was expected to benefit  from a single seamless management 
system  that  would  replace  the  diverse  systems  presently  in  use.  but  the  concept  also 
embraced the idea of a high degree of autonomy, allowing individual aircraft to make their 
own way through the greater part of what we now know as controlled airspace. new systems 
would be needed for this, along with new boundaries and relationships between the various 
participants.

.2.  This project was intended to go well beyond the work of sEsAR (single European sky ATM 
Research) and the assessors considered whether there would be any interaction between 
them. however, they were clearly of the view that whilst sEsAR might produce issues that 
could be of interest to this project, the opposite would not apply. The time focus of the two 
projects is also quite different with sEsAR concentrating on the next decade or so while this 
project focuses more on the middle of this century.

.2.4  The assessors were clear that a comprehensive view should be taken regarding this study. It 
should address a framework for air transport on a very large scale. The study should consider 

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the  whole  system  when  defining  its  aims  and  objectives.  It  was  necessary  to  examine  a 
number of issues and their position within this large scale framework. The key benefits of 
each issue and the obstacles facing them would need to be examined within a number of 
scenarios, some of which should include different radical options.

.2.  The  project  was  recognised  as  being  a  very  large  concept.  This  was  discussed  and  the 
conclusion reached was that this was inevitable if the considerable benefits envisaged for a 
truly global system were ever to be realised.

.2.  There  were  certain  aspects  that  needed  to  be  defined  as  part  of  the  study.  for  example, 
the discussion revealed some differences in the assessors’ understanding of the degree of 
autonomous  operation  that  should  be  examined.  how  should  this  interact  with  the  latest 
control  methods,  how  should  autonomous  operation  move  to  strict  control  methods  and 
under what circumstances? Could autonomy include totally autonomous vehicles and would 
this enable unmanned aircraft able to fly safely and securely through air space around the 
world? These were among the wide range of issues that needed to be examined during the 
study.

Technology Aspects:

.2.7  It  was  observed  during  the  assessors’  discussion  that  tools  to  help  with  this  study  were 
already well advanced and were expected to improve even further. Modelling and artificial 
environments  could  be  used  to  explore  different  functional  relationships  and  their 
implications.

.2.8  Advanced  IT  technologies  need  to  be  used  if  total  autonomy  is  to  be  sought.  Advanced 
network-centric networks will need to support a safety overview. neural network and artificial 
intelligence will need to be introduced. Advanced display systems are required that should be 
developed in close affinity, with a human-centred approach. 

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5.3  Project 3 – the cruiser/feeder concept (ideas 43 and 15)

..1  The cruiser/feeder concept was discussed extensively in part 1 of the project.  during the 
assessors’ discussion,  the idea was expanded to include related concepts such as refuelling in 
mid-air.  The idea envisages a series of very large aircraft flying on stable routes that connect 
major  centres  of  population  through  one  of  several  circuits.  These  large  cruisers  would 
remain airborne for very long periods so that they could be considered to be permanently 
circling around their designated route. They would fly at an altitude and speed that was both 
economical and which would remain fairly constant.  Linking these cruisers to fixed bases 
near centres of population would be a series of short range shuttle aircraft designed only to 
travel from the ground to the interception point with the cruiser and back again. The feeder 
airliners would be able to land on or dock with the cruiser for the transfer of passengers and 
freight. This could be accomplished by individuals moving from one to the other through the 
transfer of a portable platform, complete with passengers, at the docking station.

..2  The  operation  of  the  cruiser  feeder  system  has  not  been  studied  in  depth  but  it  has  been 
foreseen that with a totally different operational concept, great benefits could be achieved. 
The environmental impact of the system might be much lower than the present expanded air 
system. Total fuel consumption could be much less. passengers might not need to book in 
advance for a particular feeder aircraft, which could operate on a shuttle basis. depending 
upon the frequency of a cruiser route near to one’s departure or destination point, it might be 
possible for an individual to simply join the next available cruiser. This implies that different 
business models should be considered for the operation of these craft.

..  As yet, there is no single stable concept that embodies this idea. A number of variations of 
it are possible and each one presents a different challenge.  one of the first tasks for any 
project studying this idea would be to assemble a structure for managing different conceptual 
elements that could be combined in a number of different ways. These would then be studied 
in order to isolate the most feasible alternative scenarios.

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..4  A  version  that  might  include  a  nuclear  powered  cruiser  exists,  but  the  issues  that  would 
arise from this option have not been studied in depth. The study needs to address how such 
a cruiser would be launched, how it could be maintained, and what would happen in any kind 
of credible emergency. All of these questions would need to be considered. The alternative of 
a non-nuclear cruiser would present almost identical challenges with the need to re-fuel the 
cruiser in order to maintain its semi-perpetual flight around the world.

..  The system aspects of this concept would be the first place to begin and a structured analysis 
of the system implications would be an early priority.  This analysis would point the way to 
individual issues that would need to be considered separately and then integrated within the 
concept. different modes of operation and different hypothetical sizes for the cruisers and 
feeders need to be studied and the concept developed to a point where the benefits could 
be considered against the initial optimisation of the concept. The technological issues that 
this optimised version would raise are likely to be challenging, but should be set against the 
expected benefits.

Technology Aspects: 

..  The first issue is the design of a suitable cruiser platform. This will be a large aircraft. Total 
aircraft design will need to be investigated. This relates to the aerodynamics, the structural 
design, control, power plants etc. A suitable source of power needs to be examined, such 
as  a  nuclear  engine.  since  the  190s  little  research  has  been  conducted  in  this  area.  The 
landing and take-off from the platform is another research topic. Wake vortexes behind the 
mother ship have proven to be a critical factor in all previous designs where docking was 
attempted.

..7  Also the idea of air refuelling needs further consideration. new methods that would be safer 
and easer to handle than the current system may be developed. Automated refuelling would 
be sought.

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..8  The design of the feeder aircraft also needs to be addressed. This could be an advanced VsToL 
aircraft. but to be flexible and provide near door-to-door services, the aircraft would need to 
be very quiet which is not the case with current VToL aircraft. new propulsion arrangements 
also  need  to  be  studied.  optimal  payload  and  range  will  be  important  parameters.  The 
feasibility of carrying preloaded passenger containers should be investigated. Loading and 
releasing these containers needs attention.

5.4  Project 4 – the use of ground power sources (ideas 17 and 22)

.4.1  This concept is motivated by the reduction in the installed power or installed systems on the 
aircraft as a means to reduce weight and fuel consumption. other benefits include use of 
smaller airfields, noise reduction and other environmental gains. The use of ground power 
begins  by  taking  into  account  the  phase  of  the  flight  being  considered.  Take-off  is  usually 
considered to be the easiest phase in which to apply ground power but this might well involve 
some complementary system upon landing.

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Technology Aspects:

.4.2  for take-off assistance, electrical, steam or magnetic devices could be used. These could 
rely  on  oil-based,  nuclear  or  solar  energy  sources.  Energy  storage  is  one  issue  to  be 
investigated.

.4.  In  order  to  launch  aircraft  ramps,  MAGLEV  or  catapults  could  be  used,  that  might  be 

augmented by a short burst of rocket power.

.4.4  Research into aircraft design adaptations, energy requirements plus the safety of the system 

is required. 

.4.  With regard to landing, the idea is to reduce aircraft weight by eliminating the undercarriage. 
some alternatives to be looked into include landing on water, landing on vehicles that could 
use electro magnetic fields to position the aircraft, para-foil landings etc.

5.5  Project 5 – a personal air transport system (idea 12)

..1  The idea of personal air transport is not new. In the past, many people have tried to come 
up with ideas to develop personal transport vehicles.  These failed because the technology 
was not adequately advanced and business models for personal air transport were lacking. 
In  more  recent  years,  nAsA  has  investigated  concepts  for  personal  air  transport  vehicles 
and their operational environment. This was coupled with a policy to revitalize small aircraft 
production  in  the  united  states.  Recently,  small  aircraft  have  been  developed  that  can  be 
used  as  a  new  form  of  air  transport,  creating  a  new  air  taxi  business.  This  is  completely 
different from business aviation which is already well established. Many designs are on offer 
for very light jets, some originating from European companies like Grob and diamond.

‘Ideas exist that would 

allow individual air 

transport in order 

to avoid increasing 

congestion on 

European roads and to 

offer an alternative to 

the current transport 

system in new 

European Member 

States.’

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..2  Ideas exist that would allow individual air transport in order to avoid increasing congestion on 
European roads and to offer an alternative to the current transport system in new European 
Member states.

‘Ideas exist that would 
allow individual air 
transport in order 
to avoid increasing 
congestion on 
European roads and to 
offer an alternative to 
the current transport 
system in new 
European Member 
States.’

studies into personal Air Transport systems (pATs) inevitably 
.. 
begin  with  the  design  of  the  air  vehicle.  This  has  been  the  case  for 
innumerable designs put forward over the last half century or more. This 
is not the approach of the out of the box team. The first issue that needs 
careful consideration is the operational concept. Where can individual 
aircraft take off and land, what is the environmental impact, what about 
certification, maintenance, training and what about ownership models, 
liability issues and infrastructure requirements?

..4  We believe that the personal air vehicle can be designed and 
can be an effective small aircraft. It should present few fundamentally 
innovative challenges and we are confident that skilled designers have 
the ability to formulate designs that work well. This is not the reason 
why  pATs  have  failed  to  be  successfully  developed  on  a  commercial 
basis.

..  In  the  assessment  sessions,  the  team  discussed  the  reasons  behind  why,  if  the  above  is 
true, the concept remained attractive but had failed to be adopted in any serious way. The 
conclusion was that the concept has some very challenging issues but that these lay in the 
difficult areas of operating systems, systems engineering, regulation and control and that 
these areas had not been attractive to the many “inventors” who had come up with air vehicle 
designs over the years.

..  It is not hard to understand why this should be so. but the assessment team believes that 
this important concept should be considered as a major innovative project with the terms 
outlined for out of the box incubation. basically, this is because the emphasis needs to be 
placed firmly upon the system aspects of pATs. Whilst it is clearly possible to construct a 
single small personal aircraft, the challenge of safely operating a large number has not been 
sufficiently addressed. Assume, for example, that in a city of 1 million people perhaps 2 % 
of the population might own a pATs and 1 % of these might be in use at any one time.  In 
the extended city area, maybe 0 km2 in size, this might yield an average operating density 

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of these systems of 40 per km. Addressing the challenges implied by these sorts of figures 
needs  a  fundamental  examination  of  the  basis  of  operation,  regulation,  safety,  personal/
automatic  control,  competence  and  much  more.    The  key  problem  is  not  about  making  a 
small vehicle fly, but rather how it should be operated.

Technology Aspects:

..7  Consideration of the operating concept will determine starting assumptions about whether 
pATs  should  be  fully  autonomous,  guided  and  controlled  by  computers,  or  whether  there 
should be some measure of personal control. Avoiding collisions is clearly one priority but 
protection  against  system  failures,  interference  with  normal  air  traffic  management,  and 
noise pollution will also need to be considered.

..8  It is likely that the pATs will embody sophisticated electronics but of a commercial form that 

will also be affordable.

5.6  Project 6 – connecting people with aircraft (ideas 47, 33 and 53)

..1  This concept turned out, after much discussion, to be a composite of a number of different 
ideas. It concerns the system used to process passengers and their baggage from arrival at 
an airport to being seated in the aircraft ready for departure. The usual experience of the 
passenger now is to go from one process to another, from check-in and baggage deposit, to 
emigration and security and so on in ways that do not appear to be connected or integrated. 
Queues  form  and  reform  at  intervals  through  these  multiple  processes,  and  the  whole 
procedure  takes  a  considerable  amount  time  and  involves  a  lot  of  walking.  The  assessors 
considered  the  issue  to  be  about  designing  a  single  process  with  multiple  outcomes.  The 
process would need to recognise a number of constraints and would be required to work in 
sync with numerous other processes. 

..2  There  was  debate  about  whether  this  concept  was  really  one  as  bland  as  “The  Airport  of 
the future” and without sufficient specificity to the passenger experience. This was rejected 

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by  the  group  who  distinguished  it  from  any  Airport  of  the  future-type  programme  by  its 
concentration upon the essential process of the passenger and baggage. The project could 
not be accomplished in any smaller way unless the outcome was to result in a new form of the 
fragmented end-to-end addition of processes we have now. only by enlarging the framework 
of  the  study  could  a  new  single  and  integrated  process  possibly  be  conceived.  Within  this 
there were many challenges. Many of these would involve the integration of subordinate or 
individual processes in new ways. There would also be new opportunities to be considered 
if the linear and geographical limitations of the airport could be placed temporarily to one 
side.

Technology Aspects:

..  The  main  focus  of  the  concept  studies  will  need  to  be  systems-based  but  it  is  necessary 
to  include  considerations  such  as  security,  immigration  processes,  baggage  routing  and 
handling,  ticketing  processes  etc.  so  that  these  can  be  fully  integrated  into  the  system 
model.

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6. 

Conclusions

6.1  The overall Out of the Box process

The out of the box perspective has very useful benefits. The initiative created an opportunity at a 
European scale to discuss creative ideas for the future of the air transport system. participants 
showed a positive attitude during both workshops. no negative comments were made. participants 
also refrained from making negative remarks based on current experience or practice.

Although  it  was  expected  that  industrial  propriety  rules  would  limit  the  contribution  of  some 
participants, the issue proved to be non-existent. participants gave the impression that they were 
free to speak and took part in the brainstorming sessions without hesitation.

It was a pity that the airport community was not represented during both workshops despite all 
the efforts to encourage the sector to participate. however, there now seems to be an increasing 
interest from the airport community in the results of the first workshop and it is hoped that this will 
be sufficient to convince the sector to provide delegates to future out of the box workshops.

during the first workshop, a limited amount of project money was spent on workshop dinners and 
cost reimbursement for some participants. The budget for the second part did not allow for such 
services.  Allowance for cost reimbursement in the budget of future workshops is recommended. 
Cost of travelling and hotels should not be a reason for university representatives and students, for 
example, not to participate.

The information provided to the participants before both workshops helped to create the correct 
mindset during the exercise. Although the preparatory actions required a lot of work, the participants 
were well prepared for the workshops and had the opportunity to generate their own views before 
getting together.

The workshop needs proper moderation. This should be done by someone who has experience in 
leading these kinds of activities. The project benefited to a large extent from the experience of Trevor 
Truman. At the start of each workshop the time schedule, expected outcomes and methodology 
were explained. This helped to create the right workshop attitude.

during  the  first  workshop  a  number  of  parallel  sessions  were  organised.  It  became  clear  that 

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registration of the results of these sessions using a standard format recorded on a computer during 
each session, is of great importance.

during  the  second  workshop,  no  parallel  sessions  were  required.  It  is  important  to  record  the 
discussion  by  creating  appropriate  computer  files.  Therefore,  duties  carried  out  by  a  project 
secretary are essential for a project like this.

It  is  encouraging  that  the  project  results  were  well  received  by  the  European  Commission  and 
AsTERA/ACARE.  both  plan  to  use  the  information  in  future  activities.  The  experience  showed 
that  artistic  impressions  made  for  some  of  the  ideas  helped  to  disseminate  the  project  results. 
Although these pictures are expensive, they do help to get the idea across. We recommend having 
these kinds of pictures made after any future out of the box workshop.

6.2  The Objectives

.2.1  In the out of the box project a number of objectives were formulated. These were mentioned in 
Annex d of the first report. After concluding the second part of the project, the achievements 
against the original strategic objectives were:

to bring together knowledgeable representatives 
of all stakeholders in the air transport system 
and relevant experts to work together in 
brainstorming workshops;

Achieved, although the airport sector was not 
sufficiently represented. 

to take a fresh look at the air transport system 
of  tomorrow and identify radical and innovative 
concepts and solutions for the development of 
the future systems;

Achieved in Report phase 1

to contribute new mechanisms by which the air 
transport system could operate in the future;

Achieved in Report phase 1

to provide guidance to the European Commission 
on the contents of the aeronautics and air 
transport work programme of fp-7;

Achieved in Report phase 2

to provide a stepping stone for a future European 
Incubator organisation;

Achieved in Report phase 2

to assist the European Commission in 
disseminating the results of the project to 
ACARE and its participants, to the ACARE 
Communications Group and to Air Tn via ACARE;

dissemination accomplished in phase 2

to increase public awareness about the future 
directions in air transport and to keep air 
transport an attractive sector for young people 
to seek a career in the Air transport sector;

The project helped to guide other initiatives by 
ACARE

to facilitate the dialogue on air transport issues 
with third countries.

planned after phase 2

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‘We foresee the need to 

continue the creative 

workshops, involving 

different people 

in each workshop 

activity. As mentioned 

earlier, participants 

will not only have a 

technical background, 

but be from a variety 

backgrounds.’

6.3  Process Development

Improvements for making the process better, easily repeated, consistent and more easily transferred 
to others, are discussed below.

..1  It proved to be difficult to interest some organisations or individuals in participating. It required 
a  lot  of  chasing  up  to  collect  names  of  workshop  participants  from  European  stakeholder 
organisations that are represented in ACARE. names were provided at a very late stage of 
preparation of the workshops. This may be partially due to the fact that the out of the box 
activity was the first of its kind at a European level. Therefore it is expected that - now that the 
first out of the box activity is rated as a success - it may become easier to obtain commitment 
from stakeholders when organising future workshops. some pressure from ACARE and the 
European Commission on these stakeholders will certainly help as well. There was a danger 
that the participants would be too much technology oriented. The participation of people with 
different background, such as in socio-economics, needs more focus in future workshops. 
There  should  also  be  a  good  mix  between  young,  creative  people  and  more  experienced 
individuals with an open mind.

..2  finding  the  right  evaluation  assessment  criteria  during  the  second  workshop  was  not  an 
easy task. The criteria included political and socio-economic factors, air transport systems, 
passenger  appeal  and  technical  elements.  Weighting  these  elements  needed  careful 
consideration,  and  in  this  respect  the  second  workshop  was  a  learning  experience.  Good 
guidelines need to be provided to the participants at each workshop since future participants 
will be different from the first out of the box project.

..  participants should be aware that the aim of the project is not only to come up with creative 
concepts for the future air transport system but also to identify technological topics that need 
further  attention.  Therefore  some  original  business  concepts  that  were  discussed  during 
the workshop could not be selected in the final stage of the assessment as the European 
Commission’s framework programme is primarily technology oriented.

6.4  Expansion and sustainability

.4.1  The  aim  was  to  extend  the  process  beyond  a  single  project.  The  idea  resulting  from  the 
workshop was to create a process for continued creative thinking regarding the future of the 
air transport system. The process should be more comprehensive than just a workshop and 
the assessment of the results.

.4.2  The elements of the process were already identified during the writing of the ACARE strategic 
Research Agenda. first, air transport will benefit from creative solutions that are introduced 
in  domains  outside  aviation.  To  track  these  novel  solutions  a  European  technology  watch 
activity should be started.

‘We foresee the need to 
continue the creative 
workshops, involving 
different people 
in each workshop 
activity. As mentioned 
earlier, participants 
will not only have a 
technical background, 
but be from a variety 
backgrounds.’

.4.  We  foresee  the  need  to  continue  the  creative  workshops, 
involving  different  people  in  each  workshop  activity.  As  mentioned 
earlier, participants will not only have a technical background, but be 
from a variety backgrounds.

.4.4  We need to gather new ideas that are floating around at the air 
transport stakeholder organisations and combine them with previous 
ideas. It is proposed that a WIKI type of web page where new ideas can 
be aired is set up.

All  the  different  ideas    need  to  be  assessed  in  order  to  fully 

.4. 
understand their nature and impact.

.4.  An  incubator  mechanism  to  help  emerging  technologies  to  mature  should  be  developed.  
such an incubator would not be a single entity. It would be a virtual network that would guide 

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the  growth  of  new  ideas.  The  actual  work  can  be  done  in  the  framework  programme,  in 
national programmes and at universities, research organisations and industrial labs.

.4.7  The process is offered for initial funding by the European Commission. If the Commission 
decides to help by setting up such a process, it can be applied to other modes of transport  as 
a valuable tool for taking an innovative approach to transportation. Already the out of the box 
project results have been noted by the Waterborne community.

‘There is a general 

consensus that some 

sort of European 

incubator mechanism 

needs to exist where 

novel ideas can 

mature.’

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7. 

Recommendations

7.1  The project recommendations for incubation

It  was  recommended  that  the  European  Commission  enable  the  development  of  relevant 
technologies related to the six concepts that resulted from the out of the box project. In Annex E an 
indication is given concerning those areas of technology that need attention. Annex E provides an 
overview based on the ACARE taxonomy for European research.

7.2  Process recommendations

We also recommended the European Commission continue encouraging creative thinking regarding 
the future of the air transport system. 

7.3  Next steps

during the out of the box project and in discussions with the European Commission, it became 
evident that apart from the need to continue  annual or bi-annual idea generation workshops and 
the assessment of the results, other elements needed to be added to the process. 

7..1  It was recommended that the ideas generated by the Air Transport stakeholders are to be 
made accessible to the whole European aeronautics community. As a result,  the initiation of 
a WIKI-pedia type of website (Innopedia) is recommended. 

7..2  furthermore, it was recommended that a form of European technology watch mechanism 
is implemented to track technological developments in other sectors. The need for such a 
mechanism was already identified in the second strategic Research Agenda of ACARE. 

‘There is a general 
consensus that some 
sort of European 
incubator mechanism 
needs to exist where 
novel ideas can 
mature.’

7.. 
It  has been observed that there are limited possibilities and a 
lack of money for high-risk, long-term research at European universities 
and  research  organisations.  The  current  trend  in  the  technological 
infrastructure is to give priority to short-term research and technology 
development that will generate money at short notice. 

7..4 
There  is  a  general  consensus  that  some  sort  of  European 
incubator  mechanism  needs  to  exist  where  novel  ideas  can  mature 
and implementing this concept is recommended. Again, the need was 

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already expressed in the sRA2. such a European initiative would not by definition require a new 
organisation. It is quite feasible that better joint directions and an improved organisational 
setup for cooperation in innovative research would yield good results. funds could be better 
aligned  and  the  aeronautics  sector  could  also  benefit  from  the  new  European  Research 
Council initiative and perhaps use the new European Institute of Technology that has been 
initiated by the European Commission. such an incubator initiative would serve the European 
Research Area initiative of the European Commission.

7..  The proposed set of mechanisms will result in a structured 
process approach towards creative and innovative technology 
development  in  Europe.  by  implementing  the  proposed 
structure, Europe would have at its disposal a mechanism 
which, acknowledging all the differences, will represent for 
European aeronautics what dARpA represents in the us for 
military research and technology development.

‘The proposed set 
of mechanisms will 
result in a structured 
process approach 
towards creative and 
innovative technology 
development in 
Europe.’

7..  such  a  setup  will  require  close  cooperation  between 
European  stakeholders.    These  stakeholders  are  limited 
in number, are used to working together as in the framework programme and are joined 
together under ACARE. Therefore it is expected that such a setup would be successful as the 
networks are already well established.

• 
• 
• 
• 

7..7  The main elements of the proposed project will be:
the European aeronautics technology watch;
the creative workshop to generate new ideas;
the merging of different ideas into consistent concepts;
the access to ideas, resulting from the process and from other sources through the 
setting up of a WIKI type mechanism;
the assessment of ideas in terms of feasibility, passenger acceptability, economic and 
technical content;
the incubation of promising ideas.

• 

• 

Project set up
WP7. Total system oversight and
Project management

WP1. Technology watch

WP4. WIKI

Ideas
assessment
WP5

Incubator
mechanism
WP6

Ideas merging
WP3

WP2. Creative 
Workshop

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‘The proposed set 

of mechanisms will 

result in a structured 

process approach 

towards creative and 

innovative technology 

development in 

Europe.’

... 

Appendices

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A.Appendix A:

The Assessment Team

Arnaud Lafitte

Chris burton

Johanes Reichmuth

Luigi bottasso

Marc brochard

Marcello Amato

Jose Martin hernandez

Matthias Meussen

nick Mcdonald

dimitris  Mourtzis

paul Kuentzmann

phil Walsh 

Jost seifert

patricia pelfrene

Trevor Truman

Ad de Graaff

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40

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B. 

Appendix B:
The Original 100 Ideas

The  majority  of  the  ideas  considered  in  this  section  are  from  the  100  ideas  and  concepts  presented 
by delegates at the workshop on 10 and 11  october 200. They are re-presented here, sometimes in 
combination with others, without critical review and explicitly without any judgement being implied as to 
their practical viability. The ideas have been grouped according to:

•  Systems of systems

The Airborne Metro
Ground power Augmentation
future Airport systems
personal Transport systems
future Airline systems

•  System conceptual views
Reduced Aircraft Mass
next Generation propulsion
Modular: Morphing and Re-configurable Aircraft
The passenger Experience
Globalised ATs
new Aircraft Technologies
space

•  Subordinate concepts

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The systems of systems ideas

The  ideas  clustered  together  as  “systems  of  systems”  imply  that  substantial  changes in  these  areas 
would profoundly influence the inter-connected system that is the ATs. It would be almost inconceivable 
for any one part of the ATs to adopt these ideas without reference to all the dependent and interlocking 
parts of the whole.

The airborne metro
This  vast  concept  envisages  an  era  when  climate  changing  emissions,  ground  congestion  and  noise 
pollution will no longer be acceptable at their presently forecast levels. It seeks to sustain the apparently 
unlimited demands of people for travel without the huge penalties that 
these are beginning to impose.
The concept depends upon the feasibility of very large flight vehicles, 
carrying over  000 passengers and for these eventually to be nuclear 
powered.  These  large  “Air  Cruisers”  would  stay  aloft  on  a  semi-
permanent  basis  receiving  their  loads  of  passengers,  freight  and 
supplies in mid-air.

starting from the top level of the concept we could have the Airborne 
Metro  system  populated  entirely  by  these  long-range  cruisers.  They 
would  travel  on  predictable,  efficient  looping  paths  that  take  each 
individual  cruiser  near  to  several  major  population  hubs.  Their  flight 
paths would also be arranged to intersect with those of other cruisers 
so that links could be made to anywhere on the global cruiser network 
by changing from one cruiser to another.

‘This vast concept 
envisages an era when 
climate changing 
emissions, ground 
congestion and noise 
pollution will no longer 
be acceptable at their 
presently forecast 
levels. It seeks to 
sustain the apparently 
unlimited demands 
of people for travel 
without the huge 
penalties that these are 
beginning to impose.’

Cruiser tracks would be followed by a considerable number of similar 
cruisers  each  following  the  other  at  intervals  of  perhaps  an  hour. 
They  would  be  controlled  from  the  ground  and  have  defined  track  and  altitude  instructions  together 
with emergency diversion paths. Reverse tracks would also be flown to provide more convenience for 
passenger routing.

At the level of the air-cruiser the system has many attributes of a metro system. It works to fixed routes, 
it has interchange locations and passengers can usually choose between several routes for the most 
popular journeys. Interchanges present specific challenges requiring two cruisers to fly with precision 
and to fly together whilst airborne for the exchange of passengers.

feeding the cruisers with passengers and freight would require a fleet of locally based aircraft probably 
of a standard specification and carry 0-00 passengers. These aircraft would be equipped with docking 
facilities allowing them to link with the cruisers. The internal arrangements of the aircraft would also 
reflect  this  special-to-role  design.  for  example,  the  loading  might  need  to  be  streamlined  to  allow 
designated pods for transfer to the correct cruiser flight.

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‘This vast concept 

envisages an era when 

climate changing 

emissions, ground 

congestion and noise 

pollution will no longer 

be acceptable at their 

presently forecast 

levels. It seeks to 

sustain the apparently 

unlimited demands 

of people for travel 

without the huge 

penalties that these are 

beginning to impose.’

Airport congestion could be visibly reduced by such a concept. Airports would have a greatly reduced 
number of VLCT movements and would, instead, be focussed on the rapid throughput of passengers 
onto and from feeder airlines. This would allow the airport to be re-designed to permit, for example, 
four runway operations and visibly reduce airport holding populations. passengers would have to take 
responsibility  for  part  of  this  transaction  and  ensure  that  they  boarded  the  correct  feeder  for  their 
destination. 

booking “hard” tickets for a particular flight might be phased out in favour of a controlled board-when-
you-come  approach.  Improvements  in  the  power  and  reach  of  computer  processes  by  the  time  of 
introduction would no doubt allow this to be adequately controlled with minimal passenger inconvenience 
and waiting. This would, to a large extent, compensate for the additional travel time resulting from the 
feeder/cruiser link. passengers arriving at the airport would be able to register for a seat in the next 
available cruiser and thereby spend less time at the airport.

one of the greatest technological challenges would, of course, be the concept of docking. This would 
need to take place at relatively high speed - probably around M0.7 and would need to be fully and securely 
automated. for the feeder/cruiser link, and assuming that the cruiser was some kind of blended Wing 
body Aircraft (bWb), docking on top of the cruiser would seem practical.  Research would be needed to 
ascertain the flow field around the cruiser and how these might be managed to allow docking. The docking 
mechanism and the flight characteristics of the docked pair would also need extensive research.

Ground power augmentation
This envisages using ground provided power through devices mounted on the airfield to assist take-off 
or landing. The benefits perceived for such use are that the aircraft might then be able to fly using less 
installed power and to use less energy taking off and landing than would otherwise have been the case. 
The benefits would be expressed in reduced carbon emissions and in lower costs.

 An aircraft requires forward velocity to take off conventionally. This is generally obtained by accelerating 
the aircraft until the air velocity over the wing is sufficient for lift-off, possibly with the use of high lift 
devices such as flaps. one of the ways of providing ground power for part of this phase would be to hoist 
the aircraft to the top of a ramp and allow it to exchange the potential energy thus gained for kinetic 
energy as it rolls down the ramp. The benefits gained in this way do not appear to be sufficient for take-
off as forward speeds of around 10 knots are required. 

Incorporating  a  second  accelerating  device  could,  however,  further  enhance  the  elevated  ramp.  This 
would have some or all of the effect of a catapult in propelling the aircraft forward. such devices could, 
for example, be maglev propulsion units in which the aircraft would engage with a trolley that was linked 
to the maglev track. The aircraft would be pulled back up the ramp engaged with the trolley and then 
both roll and propel down the track.

The maglev propulsive rail could, of course, be used with the ramp and the aircraft would then take off 
from a mainly flat surface.

ski-jump take-off ramps have been used in naval vessels to provide a vertical impulse to shorten the 
take-off. These units have, however, been most notably used with very high power-to-weight aircraft like 
the harrier that is able, on full power, to sustain flight even if sufficient forward velocity has not been 
achieved. The issue with a loaded airliner is that of achieving the necessary forward speed and a ski-
jump is not thought likely to substantially assist such an aircraft.

A concept with a very different approach is the “Tube Take-off” device (TTod). This envisages a very large 
tube into which the aircraft taking off is reversed. In the tube behind the airliner is a large and powerful 
fan powered from ground resources. The airliner stands in the tube, engines running, whilst the fan runs 
up to speed and sucks air past the airliner until the air velocity over the wings induces sufficient lift for 
flight. The airliner is then able to exit the tube and to take flight. The challenges to be overcome with 
this concept concern the airflow into the mouth of the tube and the design of the tube itself. The aircraft 
needs to accelerate out of the tube so that when it reaches the free, stationary air somewhere outside 

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the tube it has achieved an adequate flying speed. The airflow into the tube will be such that stationary 
air will not occur immediately at the mouth of the tube. The length of time for the aircraft to accelerate 
must be matched to the length of the tube from which it exits and the flow field distance outside the tube 
from which it may draw benefit. The flow field may be optimised by the design of the tube mouth.

Accelerating  winches  may  also  be  used  to  assist  the  acceleration  of  the  aircraft  either  alone  or  in 
combination with other devices. These winches would be larger versions of the devices used to launch 
gliders  or  the  catapults  used  on  naval  aircraft  carriers.  The  forces  are  very  large.  A  typical  medium 
aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of about 7 000 kg. Augmenting forces of around 1 00 kg would 
be needed to reduce the take-off length by 00 m. The main purpose of ground power augmentation 
(GpA), however, is to reduce installed aircraft power. In that scenario the same augmenting forces and 
the original take-off distance could reduce ground level thrust needed by up to a half which would be 
very  significant  for  this  phase  of  the  mission  taken  in  isolation.  Thrust  calculations  can,  however,  be 
extremely complex. one of the calculations necessary is to determine the size of the engine that would 
sustain flight in the event of an engine failure. Clearly, it would be nonsense to suggest that catapulting 
an aircraft with no engines into the air at flying velocity would achieve anything useful. so, the installed 
power on the aircraft has to meet several other constraint conditions. 

This  situation  is  particularly  dramatic  on  so-called  big-twin  aircraft  where  the  calculation  of  engine 
failure  on  take-off  is  often  the  critical  determinant  of  thrust.  Airworthiness  regulations  require  that 
these aircraft be able to gain height on or after take-off even with failure of one engine . This has lead 
to most of these aircraft having considerable excess thrust installed, to an extent approaching twice the 
thrust calculated to be necessary without the engine failing. four- or six-engine configurations have a 
lower requirement for such excess thrust since the take-off safety requirement concerns the failure of 
one engine. The four-engine configuration thus leads to each engine needing something less than 1. 
x the calculated figure. In practice, the observed amount of “excess power” at take-off in a large four-
engine aircraft is about 2 %, equivalent to one of the engines.

one approach that has been proposed for overcoming this emergency requirement has been to install 
thrust-augmenting devices. These could, for example, be modern developments of the old JATo units 
that  provide  an  emergency  source  of  thrust  or  are  routinely  used  for  take-off  assistance.  In  the  GpA 
concept the installed thrust of an aircraft might well be determined by the single engine failure mode 
rather  than  the  take-off  thrust  requirement.  With  two  JATo-like  devices  capable  of  providing  (on  our 
reference medium weight airliner) an emergency thrust of perhaps 2 x 000 kg this consideration might 
allow a more closely balanced determination of installed engine thrust.

The landing concept is that aircraft weight can be reduced if the landing site can apply ground power to 
assist the aircraft in its approach. delivering benefits from such a concept is challenging. If the power to 
be supplied is some kind of force field, perhaps from very large electro-magnetic poles, the field would 
be very directional but would become very weak in the free air space. The power of magnetic attraction 
between  two  magnets  is  reduced  at  high  inter-pole  distances  according  to  a  very  high  power  of  the 
separation. only very weak field strengths are therefore possible at sensible aircraft separations even 
with very powerful magnets in both the base and aircraft.

Future airport systems
Airports  are  an  essential  element  in  the  ATs.  Airports  began  as  aerodromes,  where  the  boarding  of 
passengers  was  the  essential  function.  since  then,  airports  have 
diversified  into  hubs  and  regional  airports  where  there  is  a  strong 
desire to be more than an aerodrome and many airports have become a 
combination of air station, shopping mall, business centre and parking 
lot. 

unless  the  ATs  will  become  completely  structured  around  vertical 
take-off  and  landing  (VToL)  aircraft,  airport  functions  are  here  to 
stay. Airports are related to four major elements in the ATs system of 
systems: the passenger; the ATs security; the ATs capacity and the surroundings of airports. There is 

‘It is time to take a 
fresh look at airport 
operations and to 
develop new ways to 
handle passengers and 
goods at these nodal 
points.’

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also a strong link to multi-modal transport chains. If air transport is to grow, sufficient airport capacity 
will be needed. At this time, the 4 European hub airports that still handle 8 % of the European traffic 
are congested and some are reaching the limits of their capacity. There are some 2 200 other airports in 
Europe (including 40 main regional airports) that are currently under-utilised. but these airports are 
often not located near the main populated areas of Europe where traffic flows are most dense.

The development of the airside of airports has not changed much since air transport began. The way 
passengers, cargo and planes are handled is basically the same as 0 years ago (although many processes 
have  been  automated).The  additional  security  measures  that  are  now  required  have  complicated  the 
procedures at airports. Many passengers will experience time consuming and sometimes humiliating 
security checks, which are not designed to handle large numbers of passengers all at the same time. 
different organisations have to work together at an airport, which can easily create disruptions to the 
handling of passengers and goods. 

It  is  time,  therefore,  to  take  a  fresh  look  at  airport  operations  and  to  develop  new  ways  to  handle 
passengers and goods at these nodal points.  We must keep in mind the ACARE target that a passenger 
should not be obliged to spend than 1 to 0 minutes from time of arrival at the airport to boarding a 
plane. The concepts address three basic elements of the airports:

•  handling of passengers
•  capacity increase
•  reducing the environmental impact
• 

the passenger

Check-in at airports can be a time consuming affair. Remote booking and check-in will reduce the time 
lost during activities that the traveller will regard as non-essential. A possible solution will be to enable 
check-in at the aircraft gate. 

Currently at airports there is little distinction made between passengers that are willing or unwilling to 
spend time at the airport, and so shopping and other activities are offered. some people, mainly business 

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‘It is time to take a 

fresh look at airport 

operations and to 

develop new ways to 

handle passengers and 

goods at these nodal 

points.’

travellers, want to spend as little time as possible at the airport. If shopping is required, this could be 
done  onboard  the  aircraft  and  the  electronic  orders  would  be  available  when  the  passenger  returns 
to their home or away destination. This procedure saves time and the passengers are not required to 
carry extra luggage onto the aeroplane. (such a system is already available at some airports or some 
airlines).

Most airports do not have facilities to separate the flows of leisure and business travellers. both groups 
have to be submitted to lengthy security procedures. passengers could be offered the possibility of using 
modern Id technologies for guidance and tracking through the terminal, and to be chipped. The chip 
would be implemented in the passenger’s body. security checks could be reduced by remote reading 
of  the  chip  data,  video  recognition  to  check  that  the  chipped  person  is  the  one  he/she  claims  to  be 
and an electronic body check. This could all be integrated into a simple full-body scan corridor which 
passengers are requested to walk through. 

If no hand luggage is carried, as is proposed in another chapter, the process could be speeded up even 
more significantly. such a set-up would take into account that more than 90 % of passengers present no 
threat to the ATs.

The layout of airports follows a traditional set-up that has been in use since the beginning of aviation. 
passengers and goods are collected at terminal buildings; runways are connected to these terminals 
via (often long) taxi-ways; passengers are transferred to the aircraft via gates at the terminal building. 
At some airports passengers are transferred to the planes on the apron by busses departing from the 
central terminal. Luggage is taken to and from the aeroplane via a centralised luggage handling location. 
The current set-up requires the use of a substantial amount of land for taxiways.

An  alternative  would  be  to  locate  the  landside  activities  at  the  airport  as  much  as  possible  near  the 
runway and preferably under the ground. This concept follows the rule that the aircraft will not come 
to the passenger but the passenger will come to the aircraft. passenger transfers will be done via fast 
people movers under ground. passengers will stay with their luggage as long as possible.

one concept could be to co-locate access to the aircraft with the access to other transport modes.  This 
would create the drive-in terminal where check-in will be at the aircraft gate.

4

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With such a concept, additional runways could be created within the perimeter of the airport. This is 
important as airports are centres of economic activity and normally attract business parks which are 
situated as close as possible. This often makes expansion of an airport a difficult task with no additional 
land available. Airports serve as multi-modal nodal transfer points. In another part of this report the idea 
of multi-modal containers that will transport people and their luggage is explained. These containers 
would speed up the boarding of aircraft even more, as these would be inserted in the aircraft directly.                    

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A different concept is an aircraft service street along the runway, where aircraft are being readied for the 
next flight while passing a number of service stations and gradually roll towards the runway threshold. 
If insufficient airport capacity exists in certain parts of Europe, an alternative could be to locate airports 
on European shores. 

‘In some situations, 

an airport at sea 

could be considered. 

One can imagine 

the construction of 

airports at sea as an 

overflow facility of 

large existing hub 

airports.’

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  most  densely  populated  areas  are  normally  located  at  the  shores  or  are 
well connected to these. such a set-up would require the development of new amphibious aircraft. An 
alternative  could  be  the  development  of  dedicated  cargo  ports  at  the  European  shores  to  free  some 
airport capacity at European airports and satisfy the ever increasing demand for air cargo capacity.

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‘In some situations, 
an airport at sea 
could be considered. 
One can imagine 
the construction of 
airports at sea as an 
overflow facility of 
large existing hub 
airports.’

A  totally  different  approach  would  be  to  locate  airports  high  above  the  ground  in  densely  populated 
areas.  These  could  be  heliports  that  could  accommodate  (feeder)  VToL  aeroplanes.  one  could  even 
imagine an airport situated above the ground. such an airport would be 
able to accept large aircraft as well. such a structure would be rather 
big and although it would reduce noise and pollution near the ground, 
it  would  have  other  major  impacts  on  the  environment  and  for  those 
living next to it.

An alternative could be an airborne air station, that could be placed in 
between the Metro liner previously described and small air vehicles that 
would provide a personalised service to the passenger. These airborne 
air  stations  would  be  located  several  thousand  feet  in  the  air  so  that 
they would have a limited impact on the environment at ground level. As 
these stations would be in principle stationary or local units, use could 
be made of the flywheel principle to power these stations. power could be provided by solar and nuclear 
energy sources or by beamed energy.

In some situations, an airport at sea could be considered. one can imagine the construction of airports 
at sea as an overflow facility of large existing hub airports. The alternative could be to relocate major 
airports out at sea. There are already some examples in Japan and in China where major airports have 
been relocated in littoral waters. If traffic growth continues as predicted, one might even think of very 
large aircraft transporting people and freight on intercontinental routes and stationed at international 
super-hub airports located in international waters.

seaside  airport  structures  have  been  built  in  littoral  waters.  If  new  airports  are  to  be  located  on  the 
high seas, floating airports could be constructed using the semi-submersible technology applied in the 
off shore industry. since these are floating structures, they could be turned into the wind to maximise 
capacity. There could be a floating dyke around the structures to minimise the effect of high sea states. 
The advantage of a floating airport over an island structure could be that the marine life is less affected 
by the airport structure. Also, it could be a more cost-effective solution than building an island in deep 
waters. These floating structures could be of modular design and be extended as traffic flows increase. 
The  floating  airport  could  be  directly  linked  to  offshore  wind  turbines  and  offshore  hydrogen  fuel 
production sites. 

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Personal transport systems
Every science fiction writer of the 190s seemed to incorporate some kind of personal flying machine. 
people of ordinary means could load up, take off and travel in uncrowded skies to visit relatives. Today 
we have the same ambitions but a greater realism about the challenges that will present themselves. 
We are, however, also armed with infinitely greater technologies and so the time to re-examine such 
personal  transportation  systems  (pTs)  is  appropriate.  Today’s  concepts  are  more  varied  and  more 
practical than Waldo Waterman’s “Whatsit” of 19 with its detachable wings and car-like fuselage.

There is a wealth of literature about both historical and current attempts to crack this attractive nut. 
Agencies  such  as  nAsA  and  boeing  as  well  as  individuals  in  sheds  at  home  are  equally  taken  with 
the concept. some 70 concepts are being worked on today, some have reached flight trials and some 
remain, probably firmly, locked into the concept stage. none have yet been effectively marketed or sold 
on the world market although some, like the Wallis Autogyro come tolerably close to the concept. The 
design of pTs vehicles is extraordinarily varied with concepts for jet-packs, personal flying machines, 
aero-cars and others.

‘Under present 

expectations air traffic 

is set to increase by 

as much as 4-5 % per 

year for passengers 

and up to 6 % per 

year for freight. Over 

two or three decades 

this would equate to 

massive additional 

demands on every 

aspect of air travel. It 

is possible that some 

of the most cherished 

conventions of the 

airline industry will 

be under pressure 

and require new 

business models if the 

challenges of the late 

21st Century are to be 

met.’

The  more  serious  teams  recognise  that  designing  the  air  vehicle  is  only  a  relatively  small  part  of 
overcoming the challenges. It seems likely that this small part will be solved in this century. The other 
challenges remain, although they too are receiving attention. The issue of control by an unskilled pilot, 
the doubtful quality of runways that will be used, the major issue of safety and congestion, the question 
of policing, of licensing and regulation, the resilience to bad weather and the pilot’s ability to take this 
into account are all issues that now hold the attention of the serious pTs builder.

Most builders follow the strict line of the pTs, a personal aircraft. other ideas involve the creation of 
individual lifting devices that, when coupled together or separately attached to a load, could raise heavier 
objects. some single central controller is foreseen to manage the units and to direct the flight.

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‘Under present 
expectations air traffic 
is set to increase by 
as much as 4-5 % per 
year for passengers 
and up to 6 % per 
year for freight. Over 
two or three decades 
this would equate to 
massive additional 
demands on every 
aspect of air travel. It 
is possible that some 
of the most cherished 
conventions of the 
airline industry will 
be under pressure 
and require new 
business models if the 
challenges of the late 
21st Century are to be 
met.’

Future airline systems
The  concept  of  an  airline  has  remained  almost  unchanged  since  the 
dawn  of  air  travel.  A  state  or  business  buys  and  operates  aircraft, 
charges passengers and freight to travel on them, and so calls itself an 
airline. They operate from airports that are usually owned by someone 
else and pay fees for their use. In recent years, this simple model has 
changed  somewhat.  As  airport  congestion  has  increased,  the  notion 
of  the  airline  owning  take-off  slots  has  become  more  dominant.  The 
trend  toward  out-sourcing  catering  supplies  has  led  to  the  formation 
of great enterprises specialising in this line of work on behalf of many 
airlines.  In  recent  years  the  pressure  on  the  major  hub  airports  and 
the  increasing  amount  of  time  that  passengers  are  asked  to  spend 
there,  has  once  again  raised  the  idea  of  point-to-point  journeys.  The 
latest major change to the air travel industry has been the advent of the 
low-cost carriers (LCC) which has accounted for a large percentage of 
recent increases in air travel.

under present expectations air traffic is set to increase by as much as 
4- % per year for passengers and up to  % per year for freight. over two 
or three decades this would equate to massive additional demands on 
every aspect of air travel. It is possible that some of the most cherished 
conventions of the airline industry will be under pressure and require 
new business models if the challenges of the late 21st Century are to be 
met. several ideas were put forward that are relevant to this situation.

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The airline airport

This  concept  envisages  that  an  airport  could  become  sufficiently  dominant  in  an  area  for  it  to 
embrace the role of flight services (the airline role) and operate as a “through service” provider from 
passenger arrival to destination. This would allow the operator many new ways of being flexible that 
could flow through to improvements in passenger value. Its hold over the slot regime at the airport, 
ownership  of  the  retail  outlets,  ownership  of  car  parking  and  transport  interchanges  combine 
to allow it to offer to the consumer prices for each individual part of the operation. passengers 
would also have a single accountable operator one who would be answerable for any shortcomings 
regarding  every  aspect  of  the  passenger  experience.  This  would  avoid  the  sensation  of  being 
passed from airport to airline to service provider to baggage handler when pursuing a satisfactory 
outcome to a problem. Although this approach may bring substantial benefits to some passengers, 
others might fare less well. If, for example, car-parking fees were used to subsidise airline costs 
those travelling short distances but parking for long periods would be at a disadvantage. This is 
a common feature of any broad-spectrum business and it would be balanced, just as in any other 
business, by optimising the overall outcome for the company. If the airline-airport became very 
large  in  one  geographical  location,  there  might  be  a  perception  of  reduced  competition  and  the 
opportunity to implement unreasonably high prices.           

other airlines wishing to fly from the “airline-airport” would like to be assured that they can do so 
economically and not be subject to unsavoury business practice from the main operator. however, 
it might be in the main operator’s interest to attract several other airlines flying non-competing 
routes if this could increase financial benefits. In such a case, the terms negotiated would need to 
be acceptable to both parties.

Airline business models

The  previous  concept  begs  the  wider  question  of  what  business  model  should  be  applied  to  air 
travel.  We  are  all  familiar  with  the  traditional  concepts  in  which  the  airline  owns  the  resources 
and  maintains  them;  the  airline  also  pays  the  airport  to  use  its  real  estate  and  the  passengers 
pay the airline. This model has already been substantially changed by the LCCs.  some already 
work on the basis that the airport pays the airline and makes its money from retail parks in the 
airport. Travel companies are charged very little by airlines because they take a broader view of 
income in charging for holidays. Airlines often do not maintain their own aircraft but sub-contract 
maintenance to others. Engine suppliers often do not sell engines to airlines but instead sell them 
engine availability. Therefore, the number of business models available rapidly increases.

This  opens  up  the  whole  chapter  of  how  aviation  is  to  be  financed  and  what  the  implications  of 
different models will be. It is perfectly possible to imagine that companies could join together and 
offer “free” flights on the basis that there will be associated ways of relieving passengers of their 

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money through retail purchases, holidays, hotels, car hire and much besides. The lure of nearly 
free  flights  is  already  with  us  with  the  LCCs.  Much  of  the  rise  in  aviation  traffic  is  due  to  their 
success. This is now attracting critical review and allegations that the climate warming effects of 
LCCs are not worth such low-priced tickets. This has now been extended to demands for fuel to be 
taxed as a means of ensuring a rise in the price of flights.

some argue that fuel taxes are regressive. others state that a European fuel tax will actually increase 
global warming because it will encourage the airlines to save fuel taxes in the most obvious way, 
i.e. by buying fuel from outside the taxed zone (Europe assumed) and transport it further resulting 
in higher costs and increased pollution. others point out the need for a massive increase in new 
research to create technologies that will address these serious problems and that fuel taxes are 
unlikely to find their way to funding these programmes.

Emissions’  trading  is  the  most  direct  way  of  influencing  which  business  model  will  bring  least 
damage to the global climate. however, to have the claimed effects, the emissions trades would 
need to be between the individual (who is the consumer) and the provider of the services. unless 
individual consumers use up their personal carbon allowance and make choices between, say, a 
car journey, a flight, or a patio heater they will have only marginal effect. More seriously still, the 
application  of  regional  arrangements  for  personal  carbon  trading  is  unlikely  to  have  beneficial 
effects whilst people outside their area are exempt from such constraints. 

Within this uncertain, intractable, variable situation, the development of new business models for 
aviation will struggle to find the best route. some experiments will succeed by chance while others 
fail.  What  is  already  clear  is  that  the  development  of  aviation  business  is  entwined  with  public 
interest  in  the  consequences.  suggesting  options  that  may  be  possible  for  the  former  without 
considering the effects on the latter are unlikely to prove satisfactory.

Revisiting slot allocations

since the original aircraft owners started selling tickets to passengers, the concept of the airlines’ 
ownership of the “slot” has been inherent to the relationship between airport and airline. for many 
years, its significance was not highlighted and it simply formed a convenient means of regulating 
airport usage. As busy hub airports have become more congested, the slot has become much more 
important. Many airlines want the same slots at peak times and the resource they fight over i.e. 
runway access is limited. Worse still, major carriers have been granted “grandfather rights” that 
ensure their continued ownership of valuable slots either by themselves or through their alliance 
partnerships. The use, sale and management of slots have now become a major driver in airline 
economics.

Within  the  European  Community,  the  directorate-General  for  Energy  and  Transport  has  been 
taking soundings on a new approach to slot management. Their concept is for slots to be opened 
up  to  a  secondary  market  allowing  the  airlines  to  buy  and  sell  slots.  The  Commission’s  view  is 
that this market will go some way towards the desirable customer outcome of the most valuable 
slots belonging to the most efficient airlines. There is substantial support for the concept and it is 
agreed that it will move the system towards a freer market and to a reassessment of slot allocation. 
however, problems will still remain if this idea is implemented. It is far from certain that inefficient 
airlines will be prompted to sell their most valuable slots and may instead opt to continue using 
them  because  of  their  importance  within  both  their  own  and  their  partnership  route  network. 
Readjustment of the market is not expected to be other than very slow and imperfect.

The discussion about slots has been confused by the history of major airlines, many of which are 
national flag carriers and, in a number of cases, are state owned. This gives rise to perceptions of 
state pressure in support of the national airline, to anti-competitive stances and to a number of 
policies that inhibit free and open competition. Another obstacle to change is the Chicago Convention 
that prevents any airline from collecting passengers anywhere other than in its state of registration 
without permission to do so. This also gives states powers to regulate airline structures and lays 
them open to pressure from their national airlines.

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A  more  radical  approach  would  be  to  return  to  the  basic  truth  of  the  scarce  resource  –  that  it 
is a property of the airport and not the airline. Were we to take this view it might be possible to 
gradually return all slots to airport ownership and then to lease them to airlines. such a major 
adjustment  could  not,  of  course,  be  introduced  suddenly  without  chaotic  implications  for  the 
industry. nevertheless, within a programme it might be possible to give notice of intent  that all 
slot ownership rights would be terminated some years on to all operators. Thereafter, slots would 
be  leased  for  operating  periods  of  some  years  with  lessees  able  to  buy  and  sell  residual  lease 
periods.

The systems ideas

Reduced aircraft mass
The pressure upon fuel reduction that will lead to reductions in the climate warming effects of hydro-
carbon fuel burn will probably increase. The amount of fuel burnt depends on the weight, speed and 
drag of the aircraft. one of the ways to minimise fuel burn lies in substantially reducing the weight of the 
aircraft. Weight is made up of structural weight, fuel weight and systems weight.

Reduced Structural and Payload Weight

some of the ideas dealt with in other sections may have relevance here: the use of ground power 
augmentation  may  serve  to  reduce  engine  thrust  or  the  use  of  detachable  or  ground  located 
undercarriages.  however,  the  most  effective  approach  to  a  better  relationship  between  power, 
weight and payload seems to rest with new concepts for the design 
of aircraft. The concept that appears to receive most support is the 
blended Wing body. The savings of drag achieved by its tail-less 
nature are significant and the Lift/drag function in designs being 
studied is about 1 % higher than current design conventions.

‘The concept that 
appears to receive 
most support is that 
of the Blended Wing 
Body. Savings on 
drag achieved by its 
tail-less nature are 
significant and the 
Lift/Drag function in 
designs being studied 
is about 15% higher 
than current design 
conventions.’

Reducing  the  structural  weight  of  a  given  concept  will  bring 
about benefits dependent upon its operational use. broadly based 
figures  suggest  that  the  percentage  taken  off  the  weight  of  the 
aircraft, engines and systems will produce a 1 – 1. times greater 
percentage saving in fuel burn per tonne-kilometre. 

It may be possible to reduce the carried weight of the cabin crew by 
installing server systems that dispense food, drink and incidental 
items to passengers in flight. Concepts of zero-baggage or self loading baggage might also serve 
to reduce the baggage weight carried. It is not known at present how significant the net savings 
would be.

Reduced fuel weight

on  long-haul  flights  in  particular,  the  carriage  of  the  fuel  carried  by  the  aircraft  itself  incurs  a 
considerable cost in fuel used. A number of methods have been suggested to optimise the balance 
between fuel carried over long stages and the additional fuel used for landing more often. In the 
uK’s Greener by design  paper , this optimisation is dealt with more extensively and the conclusion 
drawn is that for many aircraft an optimum stage length is about 4 000 km, allowing savings on 
long-haul flights of 10-20 %.

Air refuelling

This is commonplace for military aircraft and the technology is well developed. The benefits would 
arise from reducing the fuel carried for the latter parts of a journey – this fuel could be loaded 
much nearer to the destination and allow smaller aircraft with smaller fuel loads to operate. such 
a  technology  could  be  extended  to  commercial  operations.  significant  savings  on  fuel  burn  can 
be expected by employing this method. however, more study is required to identify practical and 
achievable net benefits when fuel expenditure by the tanker fleet is taken into account . flight re-
fuelling of airliners might become routine, saving some of the fuel used to lift massive fuel loads 
from the ground and carry them halfway around the world.

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‘The concept that 

appears to receive 

most support is that 

of the Blended Wing 

Body. Savings on 

drag achieved by its 

tail-less nature are 

significant and the 

Lift/Drag function in 

designs being studied 

is about 15% higher 

than current design 

conventions.’

Formation flying

Every naturalist is familiar with the sight of skeins of ducks flying into the sunset in their typical 
“V” formation. The intention is to employ both of these ideas in the air transport system, the result 
being  significant  savings  in  fuel  consumption,  fuel  carriage  and  an  improvement  in  air  traffic 
control (ATC).

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Tight formation flying involves avoiding on a regular, reliable and secure basis any adverse effects 
from the weight dependent vortices from the wings of the lead aircraft. Vortices are a function of 
aircraft weight and commercial airliners are substantially heavier than all other aircraft that have 
attempted close formation flying.  Conceptually, the benefits are considerable.  If the reduced drag 
that  ducks  create  by  wing  warping  to  reduce  their  individual  effort  in  flying  long  distances  can 
be harnessed, then long range travel could be substantially more economical. Research already 
conducted shows that cruise fuel savings could be 1-40 %. Wings flying within about 0.8 m of each 
other can experience a 0 % reduction in drag. practically achievable fuel savings (and fuel carriage) 
in the order of 10 % have been estimated. Groups of aircraft (such as on the busy intercontinental 
routes) could be treated as a single entity by ATC as they sometimes are now. In the future, groups 
of  similarly  routed  aircraft  could  form  “fixed”  formations  in  which  the  aircraft  become  a  single 
flying system under a single control which only disperses as aircraft wish to drop off nearer to a 
destination. The technical resolution of the problem of reliable and secure close flight would be 
very relevant to other concepts (such as the Cruiser/feeder last page).

Reducing systems weight

The concept of launched aircraft with some form of airport retained take-off undercarriage was 
discussed. Were such an idea to be feasible, it would bring substantial benefits by eliminating one 
of the heaviest systems on the aircraft.  on initial consideration, it is relatively easy to imagine how 
the take-off might be accomplished with the undercarriage being left behind. Landing would be 
much more demanding. firstly, the loads upon landing are much heavier so the prospect of any 
lighter weight “landing only” undercarriage is immediately to be rejected. Landing at normal speeds 
would have catastrophic consequences. At present, the only idea presented that appears feasible is 
landing within a landing tube where the “touch-down” speed is extremely low or effectively zero. 

parafoils are used to deliver military supplies. The advantage over a traditional parachute is that 
these parafoils can be steered. The current loads that can be used with these systems are relatively 
small. If the technology could be developed to allow aircraft to make parafoil-assisted landings, 
noise produced by aeroplanes during descent and landing could be substantially reduced. one could 
imagine an airport where aircraft are launched by MAGLEV systems whilst runways are only used 
to recover aircraft using parafoil-assisted landings. As the final landing speeds would be extremely 
low, a simple skid undercarriage would be needed, saving at least  % of the total aircraft weight. 
Landing strips could be much shorter than the current runways. 

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The  parafoil  technology  would  need  to  be  further  developed.  first,  one  needs  to  consider  the 
additional weight that would be carried. second, the parafoil glider should be able to operate in 
cross wind conditions. Third, the accuracy of the system should be extremely high with an accuracy 
of about one metre.

Another  issue  that  needs  further  research  would  be  the  mechanism  to  open  and  retrieve  the 
parafoil. This should be done totally automatically. steering the parafoil should be automatic with 
manual override possible if needed.

Next generation propulsion

The majority of travellers have at one time or another travelled in aircraft equipped with a turbo-jet 
gas turbine engine. It is a design concept that is reproduced by all the major manufacturers and is 
made in substantial quantities. high by-pass ratio all jet engines power the great majority of the 
11 000 or so large commercial aircraft that fly today. In their latest form, such engines can each 
deliver thrust well above 120 000 lbs which would have been met with astonishment only three 
or four decades ago. The question posed by this series of ideas is whether the convergence upon 
this single formula for design bears any relationship to the form of aircraft engine required in the 
future. The question arises as to whether this form, suitable for its era, is entering a new era when 
another form of propulsion engine will take over the position the turbo-fan has today.

The question is prompted by increasing pressure as a result of climate change. The media seems 
to be focussed on the story that aviation will become the number 1 polluting mechanism later this 
century. This is most unlikely to be the case and will certainly not be true if it is managed correctly. 
Aircraft emissions do have an effect, although we are not yet sure exactly what this effect is, or 
precisely how the mechanisms involved work. It may be that aircraft emissions have a relatively 
greater effect upon the sunlight coming through the atmosphere than ground level emissions do.  
The question remains unanswered. 

Nuclear engines

despite  the  obvious  risks  and  difficulties,  nuclear  engines  have  obvious  attractions.  They  make 
no  airborne  emissions  and  their  waste  can  be  safely  and  securely  handled  on  the  ground.  The 
technical engine problems are well on the way to being solved. The concerns for safety and security 
may be overcome, but almost as difficult will be the perceptions of society for airborne nuclear 
engines and their containment. so, any programme of technical research needs to be accompanied 
by social research into the acceptability of these engines.

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of course, many technical problems still remain, but the nuclear engine offers a path from heat 
to  propulsion  that  utilises  many  of  the  same  heat  exchange  technologies  that  we  have  already 
developed. Many of these might make the nuclear engine very similar to a jet engine without the 
fuel pumping and combustion mechanisms. A number of suitable prototypes for nuclear engines 
have been built at various powers. Reactor volume and weight as well as containment have always 
been  the  intractable  issue.  Either  the  weight  of  the  containment  becomes  excessive  for  an  air 
vehicle,  or  the  containment  is  selectively  reduced  and  the  vehicle  becomes  a  hazard  for  those 
outside it. These considerations brought to a halt the last known significant attempts to produce a 
nuclear powered aircraft. perhaps with new containment materials and a growth in the size of the 
intended air vehicle, the equations for the containment can be revisited.

The issue of accidents is another major issue, both in reality and perception. The public perception 
is that nuclear engines are little better than flying bombs and are able to devastate vast areas if 
they were to crash. There is no reason to take this view but the public has been exposed to similar 
stories  for  so  long  that  the  issue  will  certainly  re-surface.  The  reality  is  that  careful  measures 
would  need  to  be  taken  to  ensure  that  the  nuclear  material  was  prevented  from  contaminating 
surrounding areas in any conceivable accident. This not only includes the reactor chamber but also 
the pipes, valves and routing of any of the nuclear pathways in the whole unit.

Plasma technology

These  electrical  effects  could  be  conceived  as  having  two  applications;  either  for  direct  use  in 
propulsive force by having wing and fuselage surfaces made with the correctly embedded electrodes, 
or by drag reducing measures influencing air flow over the airfoils.

The  science  of  para-electrics  is  becoming  better  understood  and  practical  experiments  have 
demonstrated their effects. The task of employing large-scale structures with adequately robust 
controls remains to be completed. so too are the power and weight reconciliations that would be 
realistic against the weight and power budgets. It has been asserted, for example, that the plasma 
effects equate to little more than pushing energy ahead of the aircraft. It makes the medium easier 
to fly through, but with the power needed to make this effect interchangeable with the power needed 
to propel the craft without the plasma effect. It is known that a blunt body can be made faster by 
forward facing (i.e. reversed) jet engines that work on a similar effect. but these examples do not 
explain the complexity of plasma science. Work continues in subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic 
regimes  and  there  is  much  that  remains  to  be  discovered  about  the  benefits  and  limitations  of 
plasmas. other effects besides propulsion may prove to be important, including the effect of the 
plasma on the radar reflection of the craft.

The weight budget required for high power plasma physics on-board is also challenging scientists. 
The  plasma  generating  equipment  will  demand  its  own  part  of  the  weight  budget  and  it  is  not 
known whether the overall systems outcome would be positive or negative.

Fuel cells

The  fuel  cell  has  captured  the  imagination  and  efforts  of  many  engineers  around  the  world.  Its 
ability  to  take  two  common  gases,  hydrogen  and  oxygen  and  to  create  energy  and  water  offers 
a  clean,  climatically  sensitive  way  to  generate  energy.  small  fuel  cells  are  being  produced  and 
marketed already and are well beyond the laboratory stage.          

Today’s technology only contemplates an auxiliary power unit to augment but not to replace the 
main  power  plant  of  the  aircraft.    To  manufacture  large,  propulsion  level  fuel  cells  will  require 
advances in the energy density of the stack. The Georgia Institute of Technology has experimented 
with a uAV propelled by an advanced proton exchange membrane but it generates only 00 watts. 

one  of  the  fundamental  issues  concerning  a  large  fuel  cell  of  this  design  is  the  storage  of  the 
compressed  hydrogen.  The  pressure  vessels  for  a  liquid  gas  system  are  large  and  heavy  and 
represent a major obstacle to deriving practical designs for significant ranges in full size vehicles.

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Another approach is the hybrid fuel cell running on energy dense carbon fuels. The solid oxide 
fuel Cell (sofC) hybrid being studied by nAsA uses liquid methanol as the fuel. This combined 
system of directly reforming fuel with a gas turbine end stage offers the best balance of weight and 
power to date.

Solar cells

solar energy has been proposed as an idea for the future of aircraft propulsion, or as an augmentation 
to it. The idea is attractive since the sun’s energy is free and at higher altitudes it is easily available. 
The challenges are also great: the sun does not shine throughout the day and some kind of interface 
between the sun and the engine is usually necessary; most commonly a battery is used. The weight 
of the battery used for this purpose on one long range experimental aircraft  weighed nearly half 
of the aircraft’s weight. Whilst the battery fraction may not always need to be as high as on this 
aircraft, which was intended for sustained night flights, they still represent a formidable obstacle 
to the use of solar power.

The power generation of the solar cells is also a problem area. The present efficiency of power 
conversion to power incident is at a low level, somewhere around 20 % with a theoretical maximum 
believed  to  be  of  about  0-plus  percent.  The  area  needed  to  produce  1  Kw  of  output  power  is 
presently about  m2.  for a medium 10 seat airliner the wing area is around 122 m2.  The level 
of  solar  power  produced  if  the  wings  were  fully  covered,  would  be  in  the  order  of  2  Kw.    This 
compares  to  a  typical  fan-jet  engine  rated  at  around  10  000  Kw.  While  the  figures  may  not  be 
precise, they clearly illustrate the gulf between solar power and today’s jet engines.

 Most solar cell power has been applied to auxiliary power units and to very low-drag experimental 
aircraft designed on a glider-like principle and able to maintain altitude with very small injections 
of power.

Distributed propulsion

The concept of distributing propulsive force over the aircraft instead of having two or four discrete 
engines has interested engineers in several ways. The idea presented in the workshop was that 
by  having  multiple  engines,  right  down  to  covering  the  surface  with  tiny  engines,  these  may  be 
integrated better and more flexibly with the mission. The benefits sought were to reduce the overall 
fuel burn whilst giving better control.

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several design schemes have already gone some way towards fulfilling this idea. one scheme from 
nAsA Langley for a bWb has a modest number of core engines embedded in the wing, exhausting 
across  a  wider  span  than  usual.  This  design  shows  predicted  savings  on  take-off  gross  weight 
(ToGW) of about  %.

Incorporating  blown  flaps  into  the  design  of  distributed  thrust  also  brings  benefits  and  new 
concepts, joining together these ideas shows considerable promise. Moving from a modest number 
of engines to many engines represents further complication and it is not yet clear how this would 
be  accomplished  in  terms  of  the  mechanical  design.  The  particular  benefit  of  having  a  mass  of 
very small engines contributing to thrust is not entirely clear. The main purpose of any engine is 
to provide thrust alone, lift alone or some combination of the two. for a thrust alone set of many 
engines, each has to be aligned and arranged to contribute to the thrust vector – either directly 
or via inter-connected ducts. for lift alone, the placement of the engines would need to allow the 
lift  component  to  be  achieved,  again  either  directly  or  via  ducts.  Engines  with  a  combined  role 
would have some additional complexity in allowing the force of the engine to be directed to one or 
other use in a controlled manner. for many small engines a ducted system would probably present 
considerable friction losses to the propulsion system.

Modular, morphing and reconfigurable aircraft

Each of these themes has the common idea that the aircraft need not be confined to a single design 
standard for its entire life. Modular aircraft design seeks to achieve this by connecting different 
modules together in a flexible and changeable way. Morphing aircraft achieve similar changes to 
configuration  by  reversible  changes  to  the  structural  units  in-situ.  Re-configurable  aircraft  are 
effectively a sub-set of modular aircraft and have changes made by exercising one of a pre-planned 
series of possible changes to give a limited number of variants to the original design.
The potential mechanisms for achieving these changes are numerous. Modular aircraft (and their 
re-configurable  sub-set)  can  be  based  on  changes  to  equipment  loaded  into  pre-prepared  bays 
in  the  aircraft.  These  may  be  of  importance  to  the  aircraft  mission  systems  but  have  relatively 

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little effect on the aircraft flight characteristics. More fundamental changes to the aircraft have 
been envisaged. These include pods that may be attached to provide different uses for the aircraft, 
power-plant  change  routines,  individual  passenger  enclosures  or  personal  seat  units,  and  wing 
sets for different duties.

Each  of  these  modular  changes  seeks  to  achieve  a  similar  end  i.e.  to  provide  the  aircraft  with 
greater flexibility of use, to reduce its use in sub-optimum configurations, to increase its service 
deployment time or to reduce its loading and unloading times. The degree to which they achieve 
these ends depends upon several factors:

• 
• 

• 
• 

Is the aircraft type going to be used (mainly) in a single role?
Is the “modularity overhead” (the excess of weight to achieve the modular changes) 
going to outweigh the advantages?
Is the safety of the aircraft compromised?
Is the cost going to be excessive?

Where  the  answer  to  these  questions  is  negative,  the  feature,  at  least  potentially,  will  be 
successful.
Modularity concerns different usage for the aircraft. for many conventional airliners in European or 
us service this seems to have limited appeal since their operations are, for the most part, entirely 
uniform.  Certainly,  the  aircraft  have  varying  load  patterns  and  sometimes  have  large  numbers 
of unfilled seats. The airlines constantly seek ways to improve their load factors. Those airlines 
with  extremely  focused  routes,  such  as  budget  airlines,  generally  have  better  load  factors  than 
general service airlines. however, in both cases the argument for a modular approach seems to 
be uncertain.
The concept is more relevant to aircraft with varying demands, that is to say operating from isolated 
strips  and  having  to  meet  a  number  of  different  requirements,  or  aircraft  operating  throughout 
the  year  having  to  deal  with  snow,  land  and  sea  operations,  as  might  apply  in  parts  of  Canada, 

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for example. This has been the philosophy that has prompted the design of the Gevers Genesis  
which was developed to operate selectively on all three surfaces. other versions might include an 
optional  cargo/passenger  layout  or  something  between  the  two,  or  an  optional  passenger/fuel/ 
water layout, or a long/short range aircraft choice. Each of these has implications for the optimum 
design of aircraft and modular approaches might well be economical if presenting these choices 
would do away with the need for another aircraft to be purchased. Keeping the weight and cost 
overheads of modularity as low as possible is clearly a challenge. These overheads arise from the 
provision of additional fixings and strong points that, on an integrated design, would be redundant. 
The  removal  of  engine  modules  (for  their  replacement  by  a  more  role-suitable  engine)  would 
be relatively straightforward but the exchange of load carrying sections would be more difficult. 
An  extreme  suggestion  was  to  modularise  the  passenger  space  down  to  either  single,  or  a  few 
passengers. The conceptual benefits of this would perhaps lie in loading time and in tailoring the 
capacity to the number of passengers.

such passenger pods would need to be attached to the main airframe in a way that maintained aircraft 
structural  integrity  and  that  would  in  practice  probably,  although  theoretically  not  necessarily, 
have the main load paths running around the pod constructed zone. This would allow the pods to 
provide for their own structural security and would also imply that services for passengers such 
as heating, ventilation, pressurisation, in-flight services, etc. would need to be connected to the 
aircraft either via each pod individually or through a number of pods. 

one of the benefits foreseen for passenger pods is that they could be used to transport passengers 
and their baggage from a remote point —often the home — directly to the aircraft assembly point. 
This would imply a possible transformation of the airport operating structure and might save very 
large sums of money as a result. from an aircraft operating perspective, however, the integrity of 
these pods would need to be assured in respect to key parameters. These might concern the fixing 
points, service connections, outer skin, and pressurisation safety margins, etc. This argues against 
individual or distributed ownership except by agencies able to maintain the pods correctly.

At  a  lower  scale,  an  example  of  modular  design  concepts  is  the  idea  of  the  personal  seat.  This 
imagines a seat unit that provides for the standard support of a passenger – i.e. connections to in-
flight services etc., a luggage container and in-flight ready access supplies. The seat thus becomes 
the travelling support module for the passenger and can be transported by different means and 
transferred  from  one  to  the  other  and  then  to  the  aircraft  where  it  would  clip  into  a  prepared 
docking station in the passenger compartment. In the aircraft it would require to be plugged into 
the  supply  system  for  entertainment  etc.  but  would  do  away  with  all  other  check-in  processes 
because the seat and its contents would be checked-in and security cleared as a unit.

Morphing is an entirely different concept but with a somewhat similar end in mind. It envisages 
the use of flexible, moveable or adjustable elements of the structure to change the configuration 
of the air vehicle in flight. Among the simplest expressions of this idea are the several swing-wing 
aircraft  that  are  in  service.  but  more  sophisticated  means  are  also  possible.  The  united  states 
defence Advanced Research projects Agency (dARpA) has a number of projects concerned with 
aircraft  structures  and  envisages  a  mixture  of  mechanical  linkages  and  flexible  skin  structures 
to achieve much greater adaptation than simple wing sweep-back changes. The Gevers Genesis 
incorporates an extendable wing in its concept that would allow cruising to take place with a better 
wing  form  than  the  extended  wing,  and  make  it  more  suitable  for  landing  and  take-off.  Various 
forms of adaptable and flexible materials are being researched. To date, no morphing designs for 
large commercial aircraft have been flown.

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The passenger experience

passengers in the late 21st Century may be expected to enjoy a very different experience from that 
of today, if some of the ideas in circulation come to pass. These ideas are driven by concerns for 
reducing the carbon footprint of the air traveller and by a desire to reduce the difficulties involved in 
reaching and boarding aircraft and to encourage an altogether less stressful journey experience.

The sleeping passenger

This idea is based on the idea that passengers will be able to be administered a drug which will 
have the effect of inducing gentle and harmless sleep for all or most of the flight. The drug would 
need to be non-addictive, harmless, with rapid or predictable sleep following its administration and 
rapid, anxiety-free and alert waking on administration of a signal or injection. The concept of drugs 
which could be taken by passengers or administered by airline staff would break new barriers and 
require careful controls not to speak of the safety testing that would be involved.

The  benefits  would  lie  in  an  experience  less  stressful  for  many  passengers,  especially  on  long 
flights, and a reduction in in-flight services. With suitable cabin design, passengers might be able 
to use full horizontal beds in tiers. These would prevent problems with deep vein thrombosis and 
permit a comfortable and relaxed sleep with very similar cabin volume to a seating arrangement 
for the same number of passengers.

Combined  with  the  modular  passenger  pod  concept  (see  4.)  the  passengers  could  board  even 
before reaching the airport and pass through boarding formalities already in a state of oblivion.

The transparent cabin

In contrast to the concept above which would be feasible with no cabin windows at all this concept 
envisages a totally transparent cabin wall and roof. At present, high strength materials to achieve 
this do not exist but the transformation in passenger experience would be remarkable. The sense 
of  being  on  a  sort  of  magic  carpet  flying  through  the  air  could  be  a  wonderful  new  experience 
for many passengers. for some, the experience might be altogether different and alarming, and 
therefore a quite unwelcome one.

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practical difficulties that would need to be addressed start with the materials to make it feasible 
without significant weight increase. Research would be needed into areas ranging from the nature 
of transparency and the possible modifications that might be possible, to the efficient materials of 
the aircraft pressure cabin. Given that such material might be developed it would also be necessary 
to  study  how  many  of  the  services  presently  out  of  sight  behind  the  side  walls  and  roof  of  the 
cabin could be routed to avoid these areas. The reaction of the material to sunlight and radiation 
might also present problems; making passengers too hot, to brightly lit or, at worst, susceptible to 
increased and dangerous levels of solar radiation.

The windowless cabin

Quite the opposite effect is envisaged by the windowless cabin. In this idea the passenger experience 
is enhanced by virtual reality images of flying instead of having widows to look out from. The idea 
is  especially  interesting  against  the  studies  being  done  on  blended  wing  aircraft  where  many 
passengers would necessarily be seated well away from any windows. Given the continued rapid 
increase in the capabilities of games consoles, virtual reality simulations and all things electronic, 
the concept of an immersive experience based on artificially provided content is not perhaps very 
far away. The content supplied could vary, of course, from simply representing the flight in progress 
to representations of flights at different altitudes, and even over different terrain. Moving from the 
field  of  flight  to  a  wider  range  of  entertainment  is  an  obvious  progression  and  the  repertoire  of 
possible programs is effectively limitless.

The benefits would rest very largely with the passenger but the absence of windows might also 
provide increased flexibility of design and layout to aircraft manufacturers.

Multi-modal service

The customer will demand seamless travel from destination to destination. In future, travellers will 
also demand one single ticket that entitles them to make the total journey independent of the travel 
mode  or  operator.  If  the  traveller  is  obliged  to  use  different  transport  modes,  they  will  demand 
multi-modal solutions that are time efficient and convenient. Aviation has been kept more or less 
separate from the multi-modal transport discussions, up to now, but this will have to change; air 
transport should be seen as one of the building blocks of a global multi-modal transport system. 
one  of  the  important  issues  in  multi-modal  transport  is  the  requirement  for  easy  transit  and 
avoidance of repackaging. This is also true for the cargo market.  Containers used in aviation are 
different from the ones used in other transport modes. This is partially because aircraft fuselages 
are round pressure vessels, which require that separate containers are designed to be stored in 
the round cargo bay. furthermore, the containers used in aviation are lightweight. Containers used 
in other transport modes are designed to be strong and heavy, to be stacked and to be stored in an 
unprotected harsh environment.

Multi-modality  would  be  enhanced  if  the  same  type  of  containers  could  be  used  in  all  types  of 
transport  modes.  new  aircraft  configurations  like  the  blended  wing  body  aircraft  would  allow 
the use of rectangular containers that could also be used by other transport means, without the 
need to repack. A compromise might be to design air containers that could simply be stowed as 
a complete unit inside a standard land container to provide the additional protection and to fit the 
land standard fixings.    

one could imagine the use of a family of standard containers adapted to the different roles foreseen. 
The universal cargo containers could be made bomb proof as has already been demonstrated by 
containers made of laminated metal like Glare®. The smallest type of cargo container could be 
loaded onto small lorries which could service inner city distribution points. Larger containers could 
be used in shipping, trucking, as well as aviation. The passenger container could come in different 
sizes  and  be  transparent.  It  could  seat  different  numbers  of  passengers  depending  on  the  size 
of the container. There could be room to stow luggage and personal belongings in the container. 
Containers would be adapted for use in aeroplanes, on busses, trains and other transport modes.  
Airline passengers could be collected at different locations in different cities and be transported in 
these containers from the pick up points to the airport. 

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If need be, there could be a transfer point in between the pick up point and the airport or seaport, 
where  passengers  would  change  container  according  to  their  final  destination.  such  a  system 
is  already  common  practice  in  holiday  coach  travel:  the  passengers  are  picked  up  at  different 
locations and transferred to a common transfer location where passengers seek the coach to their 
final  destination.  A  similar  setup  could  be  followed  using  the  passenger  containers.  With  these 
containers,  a  multi-modal  pick-up  and  drop-off  system  could  be  created.  The  containers  would 
be loaded on the aircraft as soon as they arrive at the airport and connected to the aircraft utility 
systems. Containers would also be connected to corridors inside the aircraft that would give access 
to general facilities such as restrooms, bars and entertainment facilities.  

Self-load baggage

being parted from one’s baggage is just one of the stresses of modern travelling. The effort that 
some passengers make to avoid checking in baggage is just one of the symptoms of this stressful 
feeling and the perception that it involves delays, lost or delayed bags, and lost or stolen contents.

one idea to address this is to go with the sentiments of the passengers and allow them to take their 
baggage with them onto the aircraft. by redesigning the interior of the fuselage it could be possible 
to  arrange  for  vertical  luggage  bays  which  can  be  loaded  directly  by  passengers.  Alternatively, 
the  redesign  of  the  baggage  loading  process  could  position  the  cargo  container  in  a  place  that 
is accessible to the passengers, who could load their own bags and similarly unload them at the 
destination.

There would be disadvantages for the airports in that their baggage-centred process would need 
to be re-aligned to become a passenger-centred one, no doubt at some cost. however, the benefits 
to passengers might be considerable, even if these benefits exist only in the mind, given the low 
percentage  of  bags  that  would  actually  get  lost.  detailed  process  engineering  would  be  needed 
to  ensure  that  the  benefits  that  passengers  want,  security,  time  saving  and  convenience  were 
actually delivered by any new process. If the aircraft were to be redesigned, the issue would be 
of preserving the pressure envelope without sacrificing too much of it to baggage storage at the 
expense of passengers.

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Boarding through multiple doors 

This  idea  is  similar  to  the  current  provision  of  multiple  doors  and  envisages  many  doors  with 
simultaneous boarding and disembarkation in parallel streams. In theory, passengers would board 
along an air-bridge dedicated to their entrance and appropriately signed to prevent confusion. They 
would join the aircraft at a point immediately adjacent to their seat and would be able to become 
settled much more quickly. on wide-bodied aircraft these doors might be on both sides of the cabin 
to permit easier boarding. 

  for  the  aircraft  manufacturer,  providing  more  doors  will  extract  a  price  in  the  weight  carrying 
capacity of the aircraft and upon cost, both of which would need to be eventually passed on  to the 
passenger.

The airborne hot-desk

The number of business travellers increases less rapidly than the number travelling for leisure. 
nevertheless, the pressure on individual business travellers grows, with competition increasingly 
being fuelled by the electronic devices that enable businessmen to operate from anywhere in the 
world. This is increasingly more so, but the situation is progressing at a slower rate in the air than 
on the ground.

A  new  and  important  step  in  this  transformation  will  be  to  install  a  genuine  “hot  desk”  facility 
for  the  ordinary  business  traveller.    This  would  enable  him  to  work  as  normal  whilst  airborne 
with access not only to the internet and e-mails, but also to a useful range of commercial office 
software. Almost as important would be access to his own files and records as fully as he would 
have in any terrestrial situation. Where cost is no object, installations for such facilities can now be 
provided. The challenge will be to supply them at a reasonable and commercially acceptable cost.

Relevant  technologies  will  include  secure  broadband  access  from  the  aircraft,  the  access  to 
appropriate software, and secure deletion of private files. All these are foreseeable within present 
or forthcoming technologies.

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The air traveller

for most passengers, travel by air represents a period of time spent merely getting from A to b. 
The faster it can be achieved, the better. The less that it interferes with normal daily life, the more 
the passenger appreciates it. however, with people looking for new experiences and with limited 
time on their hands, a new or rather re-invented kind of passenger may emerge, the air traveller. 
This kind of traveller travels by air for the experience it offers and the places that it allows him to 
see. In the 1920s travel by the great German airships was an experience in itself and passengers 
considered themselves to be fortunate to be able to take part in the Graf Zeppelin’s world tour in 
1929. 

Today we can consider this renewed interest in the world around us, and the chance to see it before 
it  suffers,  inevitable  change.  The  passengers  would  be  provided  with  a  high  level  of  luxurious 
accommodation on board with every opportunity to move around in comfort. 

Meals may be taken at tables rather than in seats and these may be placed to give excellent views 
of the passing landscapes. of course, the aircraft will fly at relatively low altitude perhaps as low 
as 1 00 m where this is possible. for this reason, the aircraft would be designed for slow (perhaps 
120 knots), quiet flight, possibly with shielded propellers mounted above the high mounted wings. 
The  passenger  cabin  would  be  a  single  aisle  design  with  every  passenger  able  to  enjoy  a  good 
external view. This view would be augmented by forward viewing from the front cabin and by an 
array  of  real-time  video  cameras  feeding  views  into  the  cabin.  These  could  be  combined  with 
lecture presentations on the geography, flora and fauna of the area. When possible, the concept 
of transparent cabin section (see The Transparent Cabin above) would be employed to add to the 
experience. few new technologies are necessary to bring this idea to deployment. The obstacles 
would be the assessment of commercially viable demand and the investment in suitably designed 
or adapted aircraft.

No cabin crew

At present there is about one cabin attendant per 0 passengers on board commercial airliners. 
Cabin crew has an important function to guide passengers in case of emergency and to serve the 
passengers during the flight. but crew costs represent a substantial part of the direct operating 
Cost  of  the  aircraft.  Cost  efficiency  could  be  increased  if  no  cabin  crew  would  be  needed.  for 
passenger  service  in  smaller  aircraft,  the  crew  could  be  replaced  by  automated  systems  that 
would use robot type technology. In larger aircraft the passengers could stroll  around and help 
themselves to whatever service they desire, being served via a galley wall by robotics.

In larger modern aircraft, the safety drill is already explained via a video presentation. A different 
approach  could  be  that  the  passenger  receives  the  information  via  his  or  her  cellular  phone. 
This phone or a more advanced personal communication device would be also be used to guide 
passengers  around  the  terminal  buildings  of  airports.  In  case  of  an  emergency,  the  passenger 
would be provided with safety instructions via the personal communication device. for those who 
do not have a personal communication device, the device would be provided by the airline.

Globalised ATC        

A need for pilots?

new  procedures  and  tools  are  introduced  based  on  the  traditional  idea  of  controlled  airspace, 
where end to end planning of traffic flows is an important element. so called 4d trajectory planning 
is  aimed  at  a  seamless  flow  along  airways  and  arrival/departure  at  airports.  It  is  based  on  an 
automated control loop between the aircraft flight management system (fMs) and the Air Traffic 
Control computer for IfR traffic. If such automation is the way forward, there is no need for pilots on 
commercial IfR flights anymore. Aircraft can be flown automatically under ground control. (There 
may be a need for a safety pilot to reassure the passengers and to act in case of emergencies not 
foreseen by the software. This safety pilot could attend to other duties such as cabin service during 
the  flight.)  The  question  remains,  if  such  a  system  based  on  automation  of  the  traditional  ATM 
concept  is  flexible  enough,  how  should  unscheduled  traffic  be  handled?  Can  central  computers 

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deal with large amounts of traffic data? how should control from one ground station to the other be 
passed on? What about intercontinental traffic planning, as international traffic is more dependent 
on variable jet steam velocities and their 4d trajectory is difficult to predict. If flight control is fully 
automated,  who  is  liable  in  case  of  an  accident?  Can  older  aircraft  be  upgraded  to  shorten  the 
transition time to fully automated flight? 

Free (IFR) flight?

new  technologies  are  now  available  that  would  enable  totally  different  concepts.  satellite 
based  navigation,  communication  and  surveillance  enables  precise  navigation  and  broadband 
communication,  making  radar  (and  mode  s)  communication  no  longer  necessary.  The  aircraft 
now has a reliable navigation tool and thanks to advanced communication data-links, can see all 
relevant  traffic.  In  combination  with  onboard  systems  like  collision  avoidance  systems  (AsAs), 
automated weather updates, ground proximity warning systems, enhanced vision systems and wind 
shear/vortex warning systems (which can be integrated into a single, easy to interpret display), the 
pilot can obtain total situational awareness. The function of a controller would be at best to act 
as a safety monitor for en-route traffic and to ensure that traffic jams are avoided near airports. 
however, airlines may manage their own slot priorities at airports via CdM systems. so the radical 
alternative is to rely totally on the pilots without the need for controllers or control centres.

Non-controlled airspace

The air transportation system is going to change. Aeroplanes will become very silent allowing 24-
hour operations at airports, even in the vicinity of big cities. 

ATs may also shift from scheduled towards more unscheduled operations. There may be a variety 
of flying vehicles; like personal air vehicles, air taxis, business jets, charters, unmanned aircraft 
(flying  under  ground  command  or  flying  a  pre-programmed  track),  dedicated  cargo  planes,  and 
planes from regular airlines using a hub and spoke system as well as direct routing to both primary 
and secondary airports. Inter-city and intra-city traffic will be using VToL aeroplanes, whilst civil 
and military aviation will share the same airspace. 

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strategic 4-d planning or speed control becomes impossible as trajectories of all this traffic are 
unknown. Reserving airspace for particular applications would create artificial shortage and should 
be avoided.                   

In  such  a  system,  the  prime  concern  is  to  ensure  that  mid  air  collisions  and  traffic  jams  near 
airports or landing sites are avoided. Thanks to secure satellite Cns and intelligent anti-collision 
systems, aircraft would be unable to collide in the air or with the ground. flight control and collision 
avoidance would be automatic by introducing intelligent systems on board. In certain cases, manual 
override  would  still  be  feasible  as  IfR  operations  are  like  VfR  operations  with  total  situational 
awareness based on network-centric communication tools. onboard navigation systems will select 
the best route, and ensure that flying through severe weather is avoided. Much can be learned from 
the route planning and navigation devices currently available for cars.

Airport  shortage  will  be  partially  offset  by  introducing  different  airport  layouts,  the  Metro  liner, 
dedicated cargo airports, floating airports, and separating take-off and landing and VToL-aircraft. 
scheduled air traffic would be, “de-peaked” as much as possible. The restructuring of the transport 
system, by bringing air and ground management under one umbrella, will help in this respect. 
If  insufficient  airport-slot  capacity  remains,  slots  will  be  sold  to  the  highest  bidder.  slots  may 
represent a scarce commodity and thus have a price. such an economic mechanism will stimulate 
operators to look for clever alternatives to offload their passengers.

Global ATM

by  replacing  traditional  procedures  and  systems  not  by  automation  but  by  intelligence,  a  totally 
different air traffic control will emerge. Control will be back where it all started: inside the vehicle. 

We  need  to  ensure  that  all  aircraft  in  the  world  will  be  equipped  or  retrofitted  with  the  same 
standard equipment. If large-scale production of equipment can be achieved, the equipment price 
will be low. Current developments in onboard equipment for air taxi aircraft are already leading the 
way. human factors will have to be given more attention than in the past. Certification will stay an 
important issue. We need to organise a world-wide consensus on the future of air traffic control. 
We need to think of different concepts to help cope with a future containing diversified air traffic.

Subordinate concepts

Introduction

Many of the ideas collected in this survey concern the design of the aircraft, or have implications for 
its design. Rather than present them as a simple list of disparate ideas, they have been collected 
together  under  eight  headings.  These  range  from  new  ideas  for  flight  mechanics  (under  Global 
flight Concepts) to the induction of sleep to give passengers a stress-free flight (under passenger 
Experience).  several  of  the  concepts  examined  in  other  principal  sections  have  implications  for 
the  design  of  the  aircraft,  whether  in  the  Cruiser/feeder  concept  or  the  Airport  of  the  future. 
In general, where individual subjects have been treated at length in other sections they are not 
repeated here.

We  have  become  accustomed  to  the  standard  airlines  of  the  early  21st  Century.  They  have  a 
familiar form and most of them have the familiar characteristics of large twin engines, a cylindrical 
fuselage, a lower freight bay and upper passenger compartment, swept back wings and a tricycle 
undercarriage.  some  argue  that  this  form  is  the  conclusion  of  evolution  and  that  it  simply 
demonstrates the limiting form of the idea. others take the view that any form is only the product 
of the circumstances that produced it and if these change, the evolutionary form will change and 
can be altered. The ideas presented here follow this path.

prompted  by  the  pressure  for  greater  environmental  sensitivity,  some  ideas  focus  on  ways  to 
make dramatic, or at least important, savings in the amount of fuel used by the world’s airliners. 
previously dismissed contributions regarding greater economy of fossil fuel lie behind the thinking 
of several concepts.

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The glider-like airliner

Gliders possess very high aspect ratio wings. These low drag wings allow them to sustain altitude 
in the lightest of upward thermals (about 1 foot per minute) and thereby to carry out long distance 
flight on no fuel at all. Their glide ratio is extremely shallow, in the order of 1 in ,  compared to 
a typical airliner of 1 in 1 (boeing 747). powered gliders are somewhere between a conventional 
aircraft  and  a  glider.  Their  small  engines  can  be  used  to  gain  or  to  sustain  altitude  and  the 
consumption of fuel is still only small.

The  concept  is  for  airliners  with  some  of  the  characteristics  of  a  powered  glider.  It  would  have 
high aspect ratio wings and be fitted with substantial engines for climb out, but would be much 
less powerful than those in current use. Its cruising speed would 
inevitably  be  much  lower,  perhaps  in  the  M0.4  range.  Take-off 
speeds  would  be  lower  and  runway  lengths  much  reduced.  The 
normal  mode  of  operation  would  involve  using  the  engines  but 
cruising  power  demands  would  be  much  lower.  A  glide  ratio 
of  perhaps  1  in  27  would  produce  a  hybrid,  with  many  of  the 
advantages of the glider while retaining most of the flexibility of 
the modern airliner. The benefits are mainly in the consumption 
of  fossil  fuel.  A  200  seat  airliner  on  a  1  000  nm  (nautical  mile) 
leg will use something like 10 tonnes of fuel. A glider-like aircraft 
of  the  same  capacity  would  use  perhaps  an  eighth  or  a  quarter 
of  this  amount.  The  lower  speed  of  the  aircraft  brings  some 
disadvantages:  the  aircraft  is  less  able  to  earn  revenue  and  it 
offers slower and therefore less attractive journey times. however, 
it would  be a cheaper product to produce and for medium-haul, the extra journey time will not be 
hugely significant (the change from say M0.8 to M0.4 would add about 0 % to total door-to-door 
journey times on a 1 000 nm leg).

‘A 200 seat airliner on 
a 1 000nm (nautical 
mile) leg will use 
something like 10 
tonnes of fuel. A glider-
like aircraft of the 
same capacity would 
use perhaps an eighth 
or a quarter of this 
amount.’

Wing in ground effect (WIGE) craft

These WIGE craft have been produced for many years, most  notably by the former soviet union. 
They  promise  considerable  savings  in  fuel  through  operating  near  to  the  surface  (within  about 
half a span) and through gaining from the ground effect of the airflow over the craft.  Large and 
small craft have been shown to be feasible. A body of knowledge already exists for their design and 
construction. In the era when most WIGE were subject to experimentation within the former soviet 
union, the considerations regarding fuel saving were of a different kind to today. It may now be the 
time to re-examine such WIGE craft and to adapt them for commercial operation. The potential 

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‘A 200 seat airliner on 

a 1 000nm (nautical 

mile) leg will use 

something like 10 

tonnes of fuel. A glider-

like aircraft of the 

same capacity would 

use perhaps an eighth 

or a quarter of this 

amount.’

benefits lay in their fuel efficiency. for a 200-seat craft over a 1 000 nm journey the fuel saved might 
amount to 0-0 % or  or  tonnes. The disadvantage to these craft is that speeds are generally 
in the range 10-20 knots and the routes for their operation must be suitable for very low flying 
craft i.e. either sea-lanes or empty land. Technically, the craft work satisfactorily when properly 
designed although a natural disposition towards pitching needs to be carefully considered. 

High-speed blimp

The technology of lighter-than-air craft has progressed substantially since the heyday of the great 
German Airships of the 1920s. At the most obvious level it is no longer necessary to use hydrogen 
as the lift gas with its attendant dangers. In recent times, several companies have come up with 
concepts  for  airships  for  special  purposes  including  heavy  lift  operations.  The  idea  put  forward 
here is for an examination of a high-speed airship which might overcome the disadvantages of the 
relatively slow speed (around 100 knots) of conventional craft. The essence of a pure airship is that 
the lift and thrust components of flight are provided for quite separately. Lift is from a large gas 
enclosure and this lift is almost independent of speed. Thrust is provided by a number of engines 
which do not provide any component of lift. With modern designs, these conventional approaches 
have been questioned. The very modern Zeppelin nT has rotating engines that can contribute to 
lift as well as forward speed, nevertheless, the speed is 12 km/hr in level flight. The ohio Airships 
dynalifter® is a hybrid craft with wings that contribute to lift and control as speed is achieved. A 
substantial fraction of the weight is lifted by the wings and this is claimed to be a benefit in landing 
since the craft will sit securely on the landing ground once at rest. speeds of 100-200 knots are 
forecast for this type of craft. The Cargolifter heavy lift airship was one of the concepts designed by 
the company carrying up to 10 tonnes at speeds up to 90 km/hr. Cargolifter suffered insolvency in 
2002 and the present fate of the project is uncertain.

It is certain that new technologies make the construction and use of airships more practical. With 
hybrid technologies, some of the handicaps of the format may be overcome. In trying to achieve 
very high speeds there will continue to be a compromise between lift, size and construction since 
an envelope of minimum cross-section would be too long to be practical. similarly, an envelope of 
compact length would represent a considerable cross-sectional drag.

Flying boats

The  days  of  the  great  flying  boats  seem  to  be  well  gone.  The  unexplored  potential  of  the  spruce 
Goose, the might of the panAm Yankee Clippers, the sturdy service of pbYs and sunderlands all seem 
to belong to the pages of the history books. however, as we look at the new challenges of the future 
there are reasons to think that the second age of the flying boat may be just around the corner. We 
hear, for example, about congestion at hub airports, and we know the opposition that is raised to any 
airport extension. We know also that these reactions are set to get worse and not better.

new  technologies  could  be  applied  to  new  designs  of  flying  boat  and  might  include  better 
resistance to corrosion, more controlled approach and landing, and more convenient entry and exit 
arrangements when compared to their predecessors. Very large aircraft could be considered given 
the space and water surface for landing. 

Flying lower and slower

A high cruising speed has always been a design parameter when developing airliners. high speeds 
mean high productivity and thus low operating cost. Turbofan engines are optimised to operate at 
high altitudes. Large aircraft are optimised to fly at speeds of up to Mach 0.89 and to about Mach 
0.80 for regional aircraft. Initial studies in the past have indicated that a regional jet seating 100 
people and powered by a turbofan engine, flying at Mach 0.77 at 7 000 ft, would need 82. minutes 
to fly a 400 nm mission. If the aircraft was powered by a counter-rotating prop-fan engine flying at 
Mach 0.72 at fL 1 000 ft, the time required would be 8.4 minutes. This represents an increase in 
time over a 400 nm stretch of 1 %. Yet fuel consumption would be  % lower and noX emissions 
are estimated to be 0 % lower. The effect of flying at lower speeds on long-haul flights would of 
course be more substantial. A trade-off between flying slower versus the longer flying time and the 
consequences for total fuel consumption need to be calculated.

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flying  at  high  altitude  creates  contrails.  It  is  believed  that  contrail  formations  contribute 
significantly to global warming. The formation of contrails is dependent on ambient atmospheric 
conditions. Contrails start to appear when the outside temperature is less than -40 degree Celsius. 
To  avoid  contrails,  aircraft  would  need  to  fly  substantially  lower  especially  during  wintertime. 
The temperature conditions can vary significantly between regions and may vary on a daily basis. 
Consequently,  some  have  suggested  adapting  preferred  flight  altitudes  in  flight  plans  on  a  real 
time basis to minimise contrail formation. however, flying above 40 000 ft also reduces contrails as 
the humidity level at or above that altitude is low, although flying at such altitudes may have other 
negative effects as a result of other emissions. The current generation of aircraft is not well suited 
to flying at lower altitudes such as 20 000 ft. flying lower would result in longer journey times and 
hence more fuel burn. on a  000 nm journey, this could result in, for some types of aircraft, a flight 
time of one to three hours more and up to 0 % to 0 % more fuel-burn and hence Co2 emissions, 
depending  on  the  flight  altitude.  such  severe  consequences  are  difficult  to  accept  with  current 
aircraft.

different  fuels  will  not  mitigate  the  contrail  problem,  except  in  cases  where  nuclear  energy 
could be used to power aeroplanes. The alternative would be to design aircraft and engines that 
would be optimised to fly at lower altitudes. Trade-offs are needed to demonstrate the optimum 
environmental impact of flying high and fast versus low and slow. These studies need to take a 
full systems view, taking into account total carbon emissions and nox, as well as the investment 
return on the aircraft. flying at lower speed or altitude goes against the long-established trend 
in  air  transport  as  it  results  in  longer  journey  times,  loss  of  efficiency  and  the  need  to  procure 
more aircraft. on long-haul flights, it may even make stopovers necessary again unless in-flight 
refuelling is introduced. however, if the protection of our environment calls for this concept, we 
should seriously consider changing technological developments in that direction.

UAVs and  autonomous flight operations                   

during  recent  years,  uAVs  (uninhabited  aerial  vehicles)  have  become  common  in  the  military 
domain. uAVs in the military are used for dull, and dangerous missions. Two types of uAV vehicles 

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exist:  uAVs  controlled  by  an  operator  on  the  ground  and  uAVs  that  fly  autonomous  missions. 
The cost of a crew is a substantial part of the direct operating Cost (doC) of airliners and their 
replacement by automated systems would be an attractive proposition. however, there are serious 
safety concerns. 

nowadays aircraft can auto-land and fly using the autopilot. however, technology is not foolproof 
and human intervention is needed from time to time to reset the systems. one could imagine a 
future in which planes would be flown in a totally automatic mode. Advanced self-separation and 
automated station keeping, auto-takeoff and auto-land will be feasible. one could think of a safety 
pilot  who  would  monitor  the  onboard  systems  as  an  interim  phase  before  accepting  fully  pilot-
less aeroplanes. Manual override capability would be available to the ground-based operator. The 
introduction of this system is related to the reliability of systems, to safety concerns and to security 
issues. At no time should terrorists be able to intercept the communication with the aircraft and 
take over their control. highly secure data links would be needed to ensure these situations cannot 
occur.  The introduction of pilot-less aircraft in civil aviation could be feasible at first in all cargo 
uAVs. There are substantial cargo movements in Europe. In the north/south direction, the cargo 
has to pass over the Alps and the pyrenees. In the east/west direction surface traffic has to cope 
with transport infrastructures in the East that are not yet of the same quality as in Western Europe.  
As rail infrastructure is limited and passenger trains have higher priority than cargo, the average 
speed of cargo rail is extremely low. Inland shipping is an option but is only slow to re-develop. 
Therefore, trucking has become the most favoured way to ship goods. however, European highways 
are  already  saturated  and  will  be  completely  blocked  in  a  few  years.  unless  the  personal  flying 
vehicle is introduced quickly, the most desirable option will be to ship goods by air. Aerial freighters 
could fly standard routes that could easily be handled by uAVs.

The idea of  uninhabited aerial cargo vehicles (uACVs) is not new. Their development should take 
into account the certification related issues. how to ensure that the vehicles will operate safely? 
how can we track the aircraft and who would be able to take over manual control?  What will be the 
importance of the interference with other traffic? What about the liability issues? 

one possible scenario is to fly these aeroplanes at night and to create special flight corridors for 
cargo aircraft. These could use direct routes and be monitored and controlled by a single authority.  
The uACV would fly standard patterns. There would be an automated station keeping and avoidance 
system installed with autonomous features to fly holding patterns in case of a disruption in traffic.

The next step in flight automation could be the autonomous small flying vehicle. The difference 
between the cargo liner and the personal vehicle would be that the cargo-liner would fly the same 
pattern  every  day  whilst  the  personal  aircraft  would  need  to  be  very  flexible.  If  the  technology 
proves to be safe and reliable even large passenger aircraft could become pilot-less.  here the key 
word will be safety perception rather than technology.

Vortex control

Vortices have been present behind aircraft since the beginning of aviation. As aviation has developed 
so has the understanding of the physics involved in the generation of vortices. The importance of 
vortex management lies with the central factor that determines their strength, the weight of the 
generating aircraft. Therefore, as we move to heavier and heavier aircraft, the problem becomes 
more acute. The forces involved are considerable with vortex circular wind speeds of up to 00 ft/
sec being generated; they comprise twin contra-rotating spirals of air that rotate in the under-wing 
to over-wing direction at each wing tip.

Vortices  are  important  to  airport  efficiency  and  safety.  Where  large  heavy  aircraft  are  using  the 
airport, the avoidance of vortices can become a limiting factor to airport capacity. This occurs by 
the application of longer separation distances between heavy leading aircraft and lighter following 
aircraft.  Where  inadequate  allowance  is  given  to  the  possibility  of  vortices  affecting  following 
aircraft, accidents can happen, with disastrous results given the low altitude of the event. Vortices 
are especially more serious in the conditions that apply to landing — heavy, low, and slow.

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Vortices also occur in flight but they sink and fade away normally within the clearance distances 
that are usually sustained. They become more important when concepts such as formation flight 
and linked aircraft are applied. for these reasons, research to understand, to modify and ultimately 
to  control  vortex  formation  has  a  high  priority  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  The  introduction  of 
the A80 will raise new issues to be resolved as it leads the field in weight. European research 
programmes like the AWIAToR programme in fp has vortex management at its centre.

In the longer term, the control of vortex formation and the ability to modify its behaviour might also 
bring new opportunities. Arranging the vortices to be favourable to formation aircraft would bring 
the concept of grouped flying very much into play. flying onto large structures such as imagined 
with the Airborne Metro would require this phenomenon to be understood extremely well.

Invisible aircraft

 Airports are centres of economic activities. As a consequence, airports attract business activities, 
both directly related to the air station function and businesses that are dependent on air freight 
and easy access to air transport. Consequently, many people want to live near to their  place of 
work and thus near to the airport. Cities and airports expand and because of the increasing air 
traffic, there are complaints from the people living near the airport about aircraft noise, pollution 
and smell. Experience has shown that when traffic increases even at constant noise levels due to 
improvements in aircraft technologies, the complaints about nuisance from aircraft noise tend to 
rise. noise is therefore not an absolute issue but a question of perception.

one  solution  to  alleviate  the  problem  is  to  make  aircraft  invisible  and  to  make  them  silent.  In 
the  military  domain  work  is  being  carried  out  to  create  visual  stealth.  The  active  camouflage 
technologies range from using light to illuminate the aircraft, by using fluorescent panels amongst 
others.  Research  is  also  focused  on  electro  optical  camouflage  using  electro-chromic  polymer 
materials.  Aircraft  could  be  covered  with  a  coating  of  LCds.    photosensitive  receptors  scan  the 
surrounding of the aeroplane and a picture is displayed on the LCds. This technology would make 
the  aircraft  virtually  invisible  as  it  blends  with  the  surrounding.  Anti-noise  technology  would  be 
used to counter the noise of the aircraft and tests are already performed to see if the technology 
can be used to compensate for aircraft noise inside a house. The technology could be expanded to 
create anti-noise in areas located near to the departure and arrival tracks at airports.

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Aircraft themselves can be made silent by avoiding airframe noise produced by high lift devices, the 
undercarriage and aircraft cavities.

Hypersonic and space travel

Current methods to launch men into space and to bring them back to earth are extremely expensive 
and dangerous. new ventures like that by Rutan could make space travel feasible at an acceptable 
cost, but the idea of using a space plane to visit hotels in outer space or densely populated stations 
on Mars is still a long way off. Another issue is travelling to destinations on earth at higher speeds. 
The sound barrier seriously restricted travel to subsonic speeds, with only Concorde flying at Mach 
2 on a regular basis,  requiring substantial amounts of power and fuel to overcome drag in the 
atmosphere. Therefore, Concorde was expensive to operate and only accessible to the lucky few. 
Will it be feasible to fly even faster than today to several destinations in the world at reasonable 
cost? Will hypersonic airliners, flying five times faster than the speed of sound, bring us to any 
destination on the globe in a few hours? The technology is (almost) ready. new supersonic ramjet 
technology  (scramjets),  using  air  breathing  propulsion  systems  based  on  liquid  hydrogen  fuel 
would allow us to reach any place on the globe within two hours flying at Mach 10. 

new methods of flight such as the wave rider method would allow airliners to ride on their own 
shock waves. The concept of hyper soar would lift an aircraft under its own power up to 40 km high. 
The engines would then be turned off. The plane would continue to accelerate to 0 km altitude and 
then fall back to earth. At about  km high it would “skip” on the upper layers of the atmosphere 
and be bounced back into space. Each skip would represent a 40 km travel distance and a trip 
between Tokyo and the western part of the us (10 000 km) would take 72 minutes, using 18 skip 
procedures.  The  inventors  claim  that  this  method  would  make  travel  twice  as  fuel-efficient  as 
today’s airliners. The question remains whether this could become a regular way to travel or just 
a fun ride as passengers would be subjected to zero “g” conditions and probably to several “g’s” 
during the bounce. 

We  feel  that  such  operations  will  not  replace  regular  air  traffic  for  a  long  time  to  come.  The 
hypersonic aircraft will probably first be used in the military domain. Issues like propulsion, heat 
and safety need to be explored first before any use in commercial aviation seems feasible. however, 
if we succeed in attaining speeds of up to Mach 24, we could develop an aeroplane that could reach 
outer space stations, as this speed would represent the same speed as objects in orbit around the 
globe. such a vehicle would probably need a combination of scramjet engines and rocket power. 

do we feel that space travel or hypersonic travel is likely to happen on a routine basis in the next 
0 years? probably not, unless major steps in new technologies come along that would allow for an 
efficient, safe and a comfortable (1-g) journey.

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Appendix C:
Short List of the 23 Projects 
Selected for Assessment.

C. 

No

Title

Description

10

Airborne air stations

floating air-stations in mid-air as transfer points or with 
direct ground to air connections.

4

Cruiser/feeder concept

Large semi-permanently airborne cruisers are a feature 
of an airborne metro system. They are fed by ground-to-
cruiser aircraft. The aim is greatly reduced carbon fuel use 
by some combination of nuclear cruise engines and short 
range feeder journeys.

72

High-altitude airport

high fixed tower offering benefits of increased weather 
tolerance, reduced ground noise, reduced footprint, etc.

22

2

7

12

1

14

24



Ground Powered/
Assisted launch systems

A generic class  including catapults, maglev rails or other 
uses of ground power to assist launch.

Nuclear power

self explanatory aim but one which can be combined with 
other ideas – e.g. the cruiser/feeder concept.

Chain of aircraft 

Allows aircraft to be rigidly or flexibly assembled in small 
clusters to benefit from the overall reductions in power. Take 
off and fly as a locked set.

Personal air transport 
system

Meets the on-demand trend. Gives optimised transport 
routes. Includes ATC for pTs with perhaps limited control of 
heading, height etc.

UAVs for cargo

Ground effect aircraft 
over ocean
Teleportation

self explanatory aim

harnesses ground effect for inter-continental journeys.

self explanatory aim

Full-body scanning 
portals

no need to have security checks. passengers walk through 
scanning devices.

Overall 
Score

1

21

17

19

19

22

19

1

1

18

20

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No

4

8

70

74

7

81

8



7

1

Title

Description

New ID techniques

Business models

Morphing airframes

Floating airport

Walk-through corridor enables Id to be checked in real-
time.
offers a range of different business models that provoke 
a different set of behaviours. Could include new models 
for airlines such as Timeshare ownership, Co-operative 
ownership, etc.
Allows the airframe to change its characteristics in a 
controlled manner.
utilises the sea to provide space for major new hubs.

Plasma aerodynamics

Enables high speed at lower energy cost.

Ramping Runways

Assisted Take-off and Landing Runways that assist 
operations by exchanging potential and kinetic energy.

Nano-technology

new surface materials etc.

Autonomous flight 
operations

Relies on on-board ATC which may have become practical. 
May include autonomous sense and avoid systems.

Glider-like aircraft

uses the attributes of soaring gliders for efficient flight. fuel 
saving, smaller power units.

Air refueling 

no need for long-range airliners.

18

Modular cabin

Meets a particular market for flexible flight by small 
groups or obscure point-to-point services. Removes weight 
from aircraft. Airport mechanisms to be defined. Loading 
modules of pre-populated cabin structures which lock 
together to form the flight vehicle.

2

2

Tube Launch and land 
system

uses a ground powered “wind tube” to create a flying speed 
environment on the ground. dispenses with undercarriage.

Water as fuel

decomposition by e.g. laser and re-composition to produce 
net energy release.



Modular built aircraft

Manufacturing aircraft in a modular manner so that aircraft 
are made from a limited series of compatible assemblies. 
May be extended to reconfigurable concepts in which 
modules may be selected in the hangar to optimise the 
vehicle to the journey.

4

7

Plug-in / out aircraft 
design

An open system approach to aircraft system exchange 
allowing most systems to be unplugged and replaced with 
new, updated or differently specified systems.

Wikipedia concept for 
innovation (Innopedia)

An open contribution compilation of knowledge about 
innovative ideas. Would need moderating.

Overall 
Score

19

21

18

1

14

1

12

1

20

1

1

19

17

14

14

1

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Appendix D:
Technology Areas of the 
Six Selected Projects

D. 

The ACARE taxonomy
The  basic  technology  taxonomy  used  is  the  ACARE  Taxonomy  generated  for  the  2nd  Edition  of  the 
strategic Research Agenda.
In some cases, it has been necessary to add a small number of technology areas to cater for the areas 
that may need to be dealt with in the innovation process.

The areas suggested for study
There is no certain way of forecasting which technologies will need to be embraced by these innovative 
studies.  It  may  be  necessary  to  engage  expertise  in  areas  that  could  not  have  been  foreseen  at  the 
start.

nor is it likely to be helpful to propose that every technology area of the taxonomy should be proposed as 
a region for research. This would be a blunt instrument and would lack any kind of selection.

The technology sheet incorporated in this Annex is therefore a compromise. It proposes a number of 
technology areas that are most likely to be needed and the main focus of the research work is probably 
going  to  fall  into  one  of  these  areas.  That  said,  it  is  possible  that  entirely  different  technologies  may 
be proposed as keys to the innovative designs being studied. It should be possible for these innovative 
approaches  to  be  considered.  The  suggestions  in  this  Annex  are  suggestions  only  and  should  not  be 
used to exclude other well thought through proposals.

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The Important Technologies: 

Astera Taxonomy -OOB Part 2 Version

flight physics

Aerostructures

propulsion

Aircraft Avionics,+b208 systems and Equipment

flight Mechanics

Integrated design and Validation (methods and tools)

Air Traffic Management

Airports

human factors

Innovative Concepts and scenarios

FLP

AST

PRO

AVS

FLM

IDV

ATM

APT

HFA

ICS

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Col J: Connecting People with Aircraft

Col I: A Personal Air Transport System

Col H: The Use of Ground Power Sources  

Col G: The Cruiser Feeder Concept

Col F: Globalised and Seamless ATC

Col E: Aircraft Propulsion after Gas Turbines

1. FLIGHT PHYSICS

CFD

Computational fluid dynamics

UAD

unsteady Aerodynamics

API

Aeronautical propulsion Integration

AFC

Airflow Control 

HLD

high Lift devices

WGD

Wing design

SCD

store Carriage and Release

WTT

Wind Tunnel Testing/Technology

WMT

Wind Tunnel Measuring Techniques

OPE

operational Environment

CAC

Computational Acoustics

ENP

External noise prediction

2. AEROSTRUCTURES

n n

n n

n n

n n

n n n

n n

n n

n n

n n

n n

n n n

MMP

Metallic Materials and basic processes

NMP

non-Metallic Materials and basic 
processes

CMP

Composite Materials and basic processes

MAT

Manufacturing and Assembling 
Technologies

SAD

structural Analysis and design

AEL

Aero-Elasticity

n

n

n

n n

n n

n

n

101

102

103

104

105

106

108

109

110

111

112

113

201

202

203

204

205

206

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207

208

209

210

211

212

213

214

215

301

302

303

304

305

306

307

308

309

310

311

312

313

314

315

316

317

318

BVA

buckling, Vibrations and Acoustics

SMS

smart Materials and structures

SMT

structures behaviour and Material Testing

INP

Internal noise prediction

HAA

helicopter Aero-Acoustics

NOI

ACT

ASY

noise Reduction 

Acoustic Measurements and Test 
Technology

Aircraft security

AMP

Advanced Manufacturing processes 

3. PROPULSION

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

PER

performance

n n

TPA

Turbomachinery/propulsion Aerodynamics 

COM

Combustion 

ABP

Air-breathing propulsion 

HTT

heat Transfer

NVR

nozzles, Vectored Thrust, Reheat

ECT

Engine Controls

SIG

Infra-Red and Radar signature Control

APU

Auxiliary power unit

FUL

ECL

fuels and Lubricants

Engine Calibration

EHM

Engine health Monitoring

EXP

Experimental facilities and Measurement 
Techniques

CMM

Computational Methods

EPD

Emissions pollution

ECP

Energy Conversion physics

ANR

Aircraft nuclear Reactors

MPT

Magnetic propulsion Technology

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n n

n

n

n

n

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4. AIRCRAFT AVIONICS, SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT 
- Avionics and on-board systems

CSD

NAV

Cockpit systems, Visualisation and display 
systems

navigation / flight Management / Autoland

n

n n

WAR

Warning systems

EME

Electronics and Microelectronics for on-
board systems

SIN

sensors integration

FDR

flight data/flight Recording

CSY

Communications systems

n

n

n

n

IDN

AVI

OPT

ELS

HUM

Identification 

Avionics Integration

optics - optronics - Lasers - Image 
processing and data fusion

Electronic Library system

Aircraft health and usage Monitoring 
system

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

SMA

smart Maintenance systems 

LTG

Lighting systems

ACS

Aircraft security

n n

n

n

n

4. AIRCRAFT AVIONICS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT 
- Power systems

EPG

Electrical power Generation and 
distribution

PNU

pneumatic systems 

HYD

hydraulic power Generation and 
distribution

n

n n n

n

n n

n n

4. AIRCRAFT AVIONICS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT 
- Cabin Systems

PAX

ECS

passenger and freight systems

Environmental Control system

WWS

Water and Waste systems

4. AIRCRAFT AVIONICS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT 
- Other Systems

FUS

fuel systems

n

n

n

n

LGB

Landing Gear and braking systems

n

FPS

fire protection systems

401

402

403

404

405

406

407

408

409

410

411

412

413

414

415

416

417

418

419

420

421

422

423

424

IdEAs AbouT ThE fuTuRE of AIR TRAnspoRT - pART 2

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5. FLIGHT MECHANICS -  Stability and Control

ANL

Analytical

EXL

FCS

Experimental

flight Control system

ENV

Environmental hazards

5. FLIGHT MECHANICS - Performance

ANY

Analytical

EXT

Experimental

6. INTEGRATED DESIGN AND VALIDATION 
(methods and tools) - General

ITC

Methods and IT tools for Collaborative 
product and process Engineering

OSE

on-board systems Engineering 

EMC

Environmental and EM Compliance 
Engineering process

FGT

flight/ Ground Tests 

LCI

Life-cycle Integration

n n n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

CRT

 system Certification

n n

FTS

fault Tolerant systems

HAZ

hazard Analysis

SAM

safety modelling

n n

n n

n

n n n

n n n n n

ASD

Air safety data Analysis

n

REL

system Reliability

n n n n n

SYA

security / Risk Analysis

n n n n n n

6. INTEGRATED DESIGN AND VALIDATION
 (methods and tools) -  AERONAUTICAL IT

ASE

Aeronautical software Engineering

AIP

Advanced Information processing

CDM

Collaborative decision Making

SEV

DSS

simulator Environments and Virtual reality

decision support systems

n

n n

n

n n

n

n

501

502

503

504

505

506

601

602

603

604

605

606

607

608

609

610

611

612

613

614

615

616

617

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618

619

620

621

622

623

624

625

626

627

628

629

630

631

701

702

703

704

705

706

707

707

709

IKM

Information management and Knowledge 
Management (methods and tools)

AOP

Autonomous operation

n

n n

6. INTEGRATED DESIGN AND VALIDATION 
(methods and tools) -  OPERATIONAL RESEARCH

 development of operational Research 
Methods and tools
development of synthetic Environment and 
Virtual reality tools

n

n n n n n n

AirCraft performance Assessment

n

n n

ORM

DSV

ACP

APA

n

n

n n n n

Airport performance Assessment

BSM

business Modelling

6. INTEGRATED DESIGN AND VALIDATION 
(methods and tools) -  R&D INFRASTRUCTURE

NUM

numerical Models (including fast time 
simulation)

n n n

RTS

Real Time simulators

n n

n n

GPE

General purpose Equipment

REF

Reference data for R&d use and Live/RT 
data use

6. INTEGRATED DESIGN AND VALIDATION 
(methods and tools) - VALIDATION

MTH

Methodology

LSX

LSP

Large scale Validation Experiments

Large scale Validation platforms

7. AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT (Source ARDEP)

OVA

overall ATM

AMG

Airspace Management

FCM

flow and Capacity Management

VAL

Validation

COS

Communication system

NAS

navigation systems

SUS

surveillance systems

AVN

Avionics

n

n n

n

n n

n

n

n n n n

n

n

n

n

n n

n n

IdEAs AbouT ThE fuTuRE of AIR TRAnspoRT - pART 2

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710

711

712

713

714

715

801

802

803

804

805

806

901

902

903

904

905

906

APT

Airport Traffic Management

APO

Airport operations

ALO

Airline operations

MET

Meteorological

RDM

R&d Management and Coordination

MMO

Maintenance Modelling

8. AIRPORTS

SEQ

security Equipment

CMG

Crisis Management

AES

 Airport External safety

ARS

Airport security

LOG

DES

HFI

HIP

HPM

Airport Logistic systems

Airport design features

9. HUMAN FACTORS

human factors Integration, Man-machine 
Interface

human Information processing

human performance Modelling and 
Enhancement

SEL

selection and Training

HSP

human survivability, protection and stress 
Effects

HES

human Element in security

10. INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS AND SCENARIOS

n

n

n n n n n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n n n

n

n

n

n n

n n

n n

n

n n n

n

n

1001

SCE

scenario Analysis

1002

UCC

unconventional Configurations and new 
Aircraft Concepts

1003

BTT

breakthrough Technologies

n n n n n n

n

n

n n n n

n n

n

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IdEAs AbouT ThE fuTuRE of AIR TRAnspoRT - pART 2

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