Proceedings of the NASA/MIT Workshop on Airline Systems Analysis, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, July 10-21, 1972

Abstract

Introduction: The recent renaming of the NASA Office of Advanced Research band Technology as the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology emphasizes the new stress being placed on aeronautical research by the Federal government in general, and NASA in particular. Aeronautical research at NASA now engages 5,300 people with an annual budget of $110 million dollars and addresses such problems as: - Major reductions in aircraft noise, particularly by developing a very quiet short-haul aircraft. - Improved automated air traffic control - Encouragement of development of vehicles for both high- and low density short-haul markets. - Development of an experimental approach to test and verify not only technical concepts, but also market characteristics, social benefits and the like. Research and development are essential to the solution of current problems, as they always have been. They are also essential if the full potential of civil aviation is to be realized. However, it must be recognized that neither today's nor tomorrow's problems are solely technological. Solutions will involve not only traditional applications of the physical sciences but also the techniques of economic analysis and the social sciences. Technological advances are subject to a variety of institutional constraints which can be categorized as regulatory, legal, financial, social, attitudinal and the like. All of these factors must be examined and are an essential part of both the problems and their solutions. Although it is realized that NASA's role in seeking solutions to these problems is essentially technical, it is imperative that the technologist be familiar with the additional constraints that the social and legal systems impose on technical designs. As an example, future aircraft engines must not only provide more thrust, but they must do so economically and quietly. The purpose of the summer workshop was to provide a background and insight into these non-technical areas for NASA personnel who will be involved in both the direction and implementation of the technical programs to ensure end products that are acceptable to the market place and the public in general. As was stated in the CARD study: ... the scope of civil aviation research and development should be expanded to increase emphasis on nonphysical sciences such as economics and sociology." The workshop consisted of a two-week series of lectures and discussions by leading academic government and industry personnel in the field of flight transportation, covering the interface between technology and the remaining aspects of the air system. The workshop was held at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. This site was chosen, because it is away from the normal business setting, thus freeing participants from the daily interruptions of their office routines and offering them a fresh setting in which to immerse themselves in the subject material. The presentations, as reported here, are not compiled chronologically but rather they are grouped according to major topic and also from the more basic to the more advanced within each topic. This is done so as to give the reader the proper background and continuity.