Aircraft for Long Range and Long Endurance Missions

Development of regenerative and high bypass ratio propulsion systems and laminar flow control systems hold promise for aircraft systems that will transport very large payloads over considerably longer ranges and provide airborne endurance considerably greater than those presently achievable. This paper presents broad parametric study to ascertain tradeoff between range and endurance versus design cruise speed for aircraft powered by turbofan, cruise fan, and turboprop propulsion systems. The potential for each type of propulsion system is projected for various design configurations and results of several side studies indicate effects of ground rule changes, mixed powerplant arrangements, and refueling.