Exploratory Business Case Study for an Extreme Short Take-Off and Landing Transport

The air traffic system in this country currently suffers from increased delays. A return in passenger traffic to pre-9/11 levels leaves airports approaching their saturation points. With the industry struggling to meet current expectations, the projected passenger growth of 2.8% per year could prove disastrous for the future of air travel. In response to these growing problems NASA has begun exploring a technology research activity to investigate an aircraft with Extreme Short Take-Off and Landing (ESTOL) capabilities. An ESTOL vehicle would alleviate some of these dilemmas by utilizing existing infrastructure to provide significant improvement in the area of delay reduction as well as enhance maximum throughput. This study highlights research for developing the technologies necessary for the ESTOL passenger transport and presents initial operational and economic analyses that will demonstrate the viability of such an aircraft.