Economic Impact of the Hybrid Wing Cruise Efficient Short Take-Off and Landing (CESTOL) Commercial Aircraft

摘要

Every day millions of people travel by aircraft all over the world. As economies grow, air travel becomes more commonplace. In some regions such as Western Europe and North America, the airspace system is beginning to become overloaded. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) projects that by 2020 more than 1.2 billion passengers will board aircraft in the United States, an increase from 741 million in 2007. Due to this increased number of flight operations, alterations to the terminal area procedures, en-route spacing, and ground facilities will be necessary. The FAA and the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) are considering new technologies to replace the antiquated radar systems currently used with a satellite based, integrated networked system that would permit closer spacing of aircraft, thereby increasing the traffic flow. Additionally, NASA has been investigating other new aircraft and airframe technologies - such as the Cruise Efficient Short Take-Off and Landing (CESTOL) - to assist in accommodating the needs of both the passengers and overall community by reducing noise and emissions that degrade the quality of life, while improving flight performance, airport throughput, and flight turn-around time. Concerns have been voiced that some of these innovations currently developed by NASA will increase unit costs and prove too expensive to the airlines. However, overall benefit to the National Airspace System (NAS) andrnflying community will far outweigh the initial research and development costs and the slightly higher direct operating costs (DOC). In addition to providing a strategy for delay reduction at many of the large hub airports, other economic benefits must be considered: greater revenue for the airports by accommodating additional aircraft on-time and in an efficient manner, extended hours of airport operation due to the lower noise levels produced by these aircraft, and other peripheral income, such as parking fees and food purchases which are directly related to the number of passengers visiting an airport. The community benefits can also include increased jobs at the airport due to higher volume of traffic, trickle-down economic effects due to increased airport revenue, and reduced aircraft noise levels which will have a direct correlation with increased residential property values. The airlines may pay a higher DOC due to ownership and maintenance fees; however, these aircraft will experience significantly reduced delays and therefore could result in greater revenue to their overall operation than continuing to use some conventional aircraft. The American economy currently loses $9.0 billion each year due to flight delays and cancellations. This number is expected to rise to over $22.0 billion within 15 years. The delay reduction that the NAS would experience with the implementation of NASA technology that supports CESTOL aircraft would alleviate much of this financial loss while at the same time being more fuel efficient and quieter than current technology aircraft.