SOME POSSIBILITIES for shortening the field length requirements of present-day jet aircraft are: Install leading-edge, high-lift devices which are retrofitable to present-day aircraft. Retrofit — or purchase new — aircraft powered by turbofan engines. These have an inherently higher take-off thrust to cruise thrust ratio than the jets, which vastly improves the take-off acceleration. Use boundary-layer control actuated by turbine discharge gas for immediate consideration in new aircraft engines. Use direct-lift jet engines. These will improve the block speed characteristics of the aircraft and also give vertical take-off and landing capabilities. This paper discusses the advantages of each of these possibilities. The author also describes the problem of airport location within a city, and its effect of total travel time.*
THE FIRST YEAR of jet airline operation has brought many problems — and satisfactions — to the industry. Here the author discusses some of the more serious problems: 1. Scheduling. American Airlines used the “Monte Carlo” method to calculate payloads and flight times. 2. Baggage handling. Almost nothing annoys a passenger more than long waits for baggage at the end of a flight. One approach to the problem is the baggage expediter system. 3. Mechanical shutdowns. 4. Runway length. 5. Noise. Noise suppressors have not been effective enough, from the standpoint of communities surroundings airports. Development of the turbofan engine offers some hope in this area.*
THE optimum mode of control for an aircraft engine is dependent on both the configuration of the engine and its application. Each engine application requires several detail modes of control, one for each definable regime of operation of the engine. Discussions of control requirements can be simplified by classifying these regimes by objectives: physical limiting, thrust, and transient control. The turbojet engine is the basis for the discussion in this paper. Acceptable modes of control can often be selected by inspection of the engine and its application. Selection of an “optimum” control mode requires investigation of the operation of the engine and weapons system at every stage of its use. The selection of a “mode” of control requires a compromise between performance and other design factors. The need for simplicity and accuracy must be balanced against the stability requirements. The availability and flexibility of control components may limit the modes of control considered.
SUBSTANTIAL POWER is necessary to start the modern jet engine. Thus, starting equipment has become a major concern of air transport operators. This paper discusses the equipment used with self-contained starting systems. The authors discuss and evaluate a variety of self-contained systems: combustor, fuel-air combustion, cartridge, liquid propellant, hydraulic supported by auxiliary power units, and electric supported by APU. Possible future systems are: self-breathing systems, oxygen combustors, and liquid-oxygen-water-fuel combustors. It is emphasized that the choice of a starting system for a particular aircraft will depend on aircraft characteristics and the aircraft's intended use.*