653. Where Do We Go From Here in Saving Aircraft Weight?
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Paper
Abstract
Have we reached a plateau in aircraft weights? Will go up or down from here? What can we expect in the future? Where do go from here in saving weight? These are the basic questions discussedin this paper. The answers are that if we must assume no changes of materials, continually increasing performance requirements, and too little time to do a reasonably thorough development job, then we will surely find it difficult to hold weights where they are today. On the other hand, there has never been a perfectly efficient aircraft designed, and there are new materials and concepts at hand. We therefore need not be so pessimistic as to accept the idea that weights are on a plateau or that we can’t better existing weights. As engineers we must move forward to achieve the goal of continually increasing efficiency and make it possible to produce airplanes 5 – 10 years in the future that weigh the order of 20 -25% less than present technology would permit.
