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In this paper modern optimization techniques are applied to an aircraft sizing problem. The paper starts by discussing how optimization could support the design activity and thereafter different methods of formulating the design problem as an optimization problem is discussed. Finally the problem of aircraft sizing is addressed by combining the presented optimization strategy with a simulation model of an aircraft based on mathematical models gathered from the literature. The outcome of the optimization is for example the optimal layout in order to minimize fuel consumption for a specific mission or the trade-off between the number of passengers and the fuel consumption per passenger.

The design process is an interactive feedback process where the performance of the design is compared with the performance specification. In aircraft design it is very important that the system is optimised with respect to different aspects such as performance and weight. Traditionally, and by necessity, the design procedure has began with some kind of performance specification followed by a conceptual design, and after that the system has been optimised (usually implicitly) with respect to the performance specification. Typically, aircraft design optimisation is characterised by a multitude of objectives that can be difficult to compare to each other, such as low fuel consumption, high speed and passenger comfort. Usually this is where the engineering judgement of the designer comes in. In traditional design it is often difficult to establish what was the result of design decisions and what was the result of pure optimisation.