Future Trends in Aircraft Design

This paper identifies some future aircraft design trends by reviewing the projected traffic forecast, current transports and their potential derivatives, new technology, and some possible new programs. New airplanes examined include two versions (0.84M and 0.98M) for transcontinental and international use and a STOL version for short-haul operation. In addition, a special-purpose resource air carrier is discussed to indicate the degree to which an aircraft designer is able to accomodate unique requirements. For each new aircraft, the purpose of the design and the associated technology challenges are discussed.