Horizon

Abstract

Airliners carrying between 800 and 1,000 passengers, weighing between 1m and 1.5m lb at take‐off may become a reality after 1980, according to Gordon Sim, director of science and engineering at Lockheed‐California Co. His prediction is based on a Lockheed study forecasting air passenger traffic growing at 11.4 per cent through the 1970's, 9.1 per cent through the 1980's and 66 per cent in the 1990's. While he believes aircraft technology is available to build this size airliner, producing an engine with the necessary thrust of about 90,0001b for a four engined aircraft may not be so easy, specially when taking into account noise levels. Mr Sim sees little significant penetration of V/TOL or S/TOL aircraft into the market before 1980 due to slow growth. Even then the relatively high operating costs would be rivalled by conventional wide‐bodied aircraft which will be designed with more advanced high‐lift systems for reduced take‐off and landing.

Citation

(1973), "Horizon", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 45 No. 5, pp. 13-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb035022