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Automated Floor Drilling Equipment (AFDE) have been used at Boeing for drilling floor panel, galley, lavatory and other holes in Boeing planes. New controller and drill spindle designs made it possible to redesign the AFDE as a self-contained unit with on-board CNC, custom operator interface, RF network and more compact drill spindles for increased robustness and versatility.

The new color display Aerospace Recommended Practice. ARP 4032, now undergoing final approval by SAE represents a significant improvement in the documentation of useful human engineering data. Working with operationally defined requirements for effective color displays, a subcommittee of the SAE G-10 (Aerospace Behavioral Engineering Technology) committee has developed an ARP which translates the operational objectives outlined by the pilot community into specific functional requirements and test procedures which can be used by engineers to assure that color CRT displays will perform properly under all operational conditions. This work was accomplished by pooling the knowledge and experience of key individuals involved in display applications design, equipment manufacture, human performance assessment and operational use. The ARP marks a significant advancement in the means of dealing objectively with what has been a highly subjective facet of design and operation.

The Mission-Adaptive Wing (MAW) employs composite materials and uses a digital fly-by-wire flight control system to change wing contour to maintain peak aerodynamic efficiency over a large flight envelope. Future aircraft will require large subsonic and supersonic lift-to-drag ratios for maximum cruise ranges at high and low altitudes. At the same time, they will require the ability to pull high lift coefficients for maneuvers. The Mission-Adaptive Wing provides these Features by deflecting flexible wing surfaces to achieve the wing camber and smooth continuous upper surface contour required for peak aerodynamic performance. The MAW program completed manual control flight testing in November 1986 and started automatic control flight testing in the summer of 1987. During the manual phase of flight testing, surfaces were set in discrete positions. Resulting data confirmed the aerodynamic potential to achieve all program goals.

Pilot error is an increasingly critical issue for airframe manufacturers, the FAA, airlines, pilots, and the flying public. While pilot error captures the spotlight, “design error” often underlies pilot error. This paper discusses the differences between systematic (design or procedure induced) and random pilot error and the implications of these classes of error for the cockpit design process. It will be argued that systematic errors can be reduced with design and procedure guidelines based on a better understanding of human error. The danger of attempting to eliminate systematic pilot error through automation will be examined, and the automation-related topics of complacency and skill reduction will be discussed. The need to evaluate the potential for new kinds of errors with the introduction of new automated devices will also be discussed.

Aircraft noise control practices which may have application to ground vehicles are presented. Noise sources, design criteria, prediction methods and test facilities are described. Recent application of aircraft noise control methods in the use of sound insulation, structural damping, air conditioning and engine noise are discussed. The overall technical approach (design process) to solving airplane noise problems is emphasized.

A concept is presented for a family of sturdy, lightweight, inexpensive, forkliftable freight shipping cartons for the smaller shipments, the less-than-truckload, less-than-containerload shipments making up the majority of air freight. The cartons are modular and dimensioned for transportation system efficiency and compatibility with international container and U.S. unit-load standards. Module suitability to small shippers and many transportation vehicles indicates potential applications and benefits could be far reaching throughout the transportation system. Prototype cartons have been built for demonstration.

The Boeing Commercial Airplane Company has developed a freighter network analysis model that can be used for planning and scheduling a fleet of freighter airplanes. The model incorporates both LP and heuristic algorithms and permits the user to determine the maximum profit (scheduled) fleet size, for a given network, set of origin/destination demands, aircraft mix and utilizations, within the limitations of the assumptions and approximations incorporated in the model. The model permits extensive trade studies and sensitivity analyses to be performed with improved accuracy and reduced effort compared to other alternatives.

As a fleet of aircraft builds more and more experience in the real operational environment, the data flowing from that experience can contribute significantly to: (a) better forecasts of future maintenance needs and costs, (b) better focus of the inspection and maintenance efforts, (c) special new equipment/techniques to reduce costs in specific cases, (d) high confidence in continued safe operation. Several extensions of historical approaches have been developed to support the early models of the jet fleet. The general characteristics of these techniques and their potential economic contributions are discussed.

Active Control Technology concepts hold considerable promise of improved efficiency for commercial transports. The aplication of these control concepts to current transport airplanes has typically been non-design impacting - that is, the design proceeded in a conventional manner. Realization of the potential of ACT will require a departure from this design procedure, requiring new approaches to the airplane design process. The paper briefly describes ACT and reviews existing transport airplane configurations to point out that ACT is not particularly new or novel. Following an examination of where the payoffs are for a new airplane - considering the sensitivity to design speed, range, configuration, and size - the risks associated with ACT implementation are reviewed. The impact of ACT on the transport airplane design cycle is discussed to illustrate the challenges that lie ahead.

Use of primary propulsion engines to supply secondary power for future airplane systems will incur increasing penalties due to technological and ecological considerations. This paper compares the relative merits of four secondary power system (SPS) concepts most likely to mature in the 1975-1985 time period. It also indicates that a promising payoff is available by the use of a dedicated auxiliary power unit (APU) SPS concept (in-flight APUs) for future near-sonic, long-range transports. Improvements to current technology APUs will be required before the APU can be further integrated in the SPS and can be depended upon for in-flight system power.

This paper discusses the design objectives of and a development cycle for a second-generation supersonic transport (SST). The environmental impact of technological advancement and the rapidly changing economic market produce a wide divergence of possible programs for the 1985 time period. Areas of technological advancement that can move in the direction of the second-generation design objectives will be included. Some of these advances require development of a methodology to be able to reduce the technical risk of application to a commercial SST and some require exploratory development.

The general characteristics of flutter problems affecting the structural design of both subsonic and supersonic transport aircraft are discussed in relation to configuration constraints resulting from mission performance and environmental impact requirements. Combined analytical and experimental approaches employed in the assessment and solution of these problems are outlined. Included are discussions of the extensive application of automated procedures in the use of high-speed digital computers for flutter analysis and the dependence on highly sophisticated wind tunnel flutter model construction techniques to provide reliable experimental data. Illustrations of the application of design techniques to supersonic and subsonic aircraft are presented.