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The design and recovery considerations are presented for a staged supersonic transport (SSST). It is shown that the SSST offers economic benefits over the conventional SST. The SSST benefits from the ability to “optimize” the design for minimum drag during supersonic cruise without the penalties of: landing gear, extensive flaps for landing, and the meeting of FAR 36 noise requirements. The recovery considerations are also presented to validate the SSST concept.

A review is given of the NASA/Industry/University General Aviation Drag Reduction Workshop which was held at The University of Kansas, July 14-16, 1975. It is shown that large drag reductions can be made, particularly in propeller driven airplanes. It is also shown, however, that existing drag prediction methods are inadequate to cope with propeller driven airplanes. Many unknowns are shown to exist with regard to the problem of designing general aviation airplanes for minimum drag. Several areas for potentially fruitful research are indicated. A list of 123 drag references is included. This paper is based on work supported by NASA under NASA Grant NSG 1175.

Since the entry of ultralight aircraft into the market in 1975, many changes have come about. With these changes, questions have arisen regarding the overall safety of these vehicles. This paper will show preliminary results of tests conducted to obtain an overall data base of a typical ultralight aircraft. These tests were conducted on an Airmass Sunburst Ultralight Model ‘C’ and include results from an experimental weight and balance as well as a theoretical drag analysis. The data base is viewed only as a starting point for allowing the ultralight industry to better understand the true characteristics exhibited by typical ultralight aircraft. This would allow for the design of safe ultralights under the current voluntary self-regulation program or any future programs that might be developed.