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There can be few people in this country who have not been impressed by the complexity of instruments and controls in the cockpit of a modern transport aircraft — if not the real thing, at least they will have seen pictures. This complexity, which the flight crew must master in their difficult and sometimes hazardous task of controlling the aircraft, is the display end of many elaborate sub‐systems going to make up the complete aircraft system, and the aircraft itself. All these sub‐systems and their components must be maintained in reliable operating condition by the aircraft maintenance engineer.

The Chromalloy American Corporation have recently acquired a sub‐licence from Rolls‐Royce Limited for the use of the Bristol Aerojet Limited Tribomet composite electro‐plating process, which is already used by Rolls‐Royce in the U.K. and Canada.

This article is written by Mr. Major at the invitation of the publishers of AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING as an introduction to the series that is being published during 1980, (as was said in the Comment in the January issue), on the important subject of Airworthiness. Mr. Major says “My comments are not intended to be an official expression of views of the Society of which I am President, and they are based on experience in civil air transport covering technical development, aircraft maintenance and ground operations and, in the aircraft manufacturing industry, covering structural and detail design, production and after‐sales liaison with military users. This fairly diverse experience and some of the events which have occurred in the course of acquiring it, have led me to the view that many (perhaps most) of the airworthiness shortcomings that occur are due to the ‘gulfs’ which develop between specializations, or to the lack of communication (in the widest sense — and both ways) between the elements contributing to ‘total’ airworthiness.”

The article sets out to explore the potential for future use of lighter‐than‐air (LTA) craft.

Reviews the history of balloons and airships, the physics of lighter‐than‐air flight, and potential benefits. Describes in some detail some recent projects.

The non‐fixed, controllable lighter‐than‐air craft, or airship (also dirigible), has a long history of science that became successful technology. Its accomplishments were marred by a spectacular failure nearly seven decades ago. Yet, with highly selective planning and proper attention to technical detail, the airship can serve specific purposes in the future, economically and with more satisfactory results than airplanes or helicopters.

Provides a readable overview of the potential for LTA flight.

The purpose of this paper is to define minimum cost technique of turbo fan transport aircraft in the presence of dynamic change of aircraft performance. Results can be practical applicable in airlines for achieving minimal operation costs.

Logarithmic differential is applied for defining conditions in order to achieve optimal Mach number for minimal climb cost. This condition is solved numerically by using Newton‐Ramphson method, to obtain optimal Mach number distribution with altitude. Conclusion about optimal top of climb (TOC) is defined after analyses for different aircraft mass and cost indexes.

Proposed method of minimum cost climb resulting in potential savings up to 5 per cent compared to Aircraft Flight Manual climb law. Proposed method also made correction of climb law and optimal TOC under existence of aircraft performance degradation.

Use of defined climb law and optimal TOC will minimize cost of en route flight profile.

At present, there is no definition of climb technique for minimum cost of en route flight profile, under dynamic degradation of aircraft performance. Final results are standardized to become applicable and easy to use with modern and old type of flight management system.

In a recent poll commissioned by Rockwell, sponsors of opinion polls on the US civilian space programme for the last 16 years, an increasing percentage of Americans was shown to support the US space station.

Engineer Officers—Claim for reduction in length of salary scale for all Engineer Officers

The purpose of this paper is to present the benefits offered by rapid prototyping (RP) models for wind‐tunnel testing as part of fourth‐year aerospace engineering student projects. Ways of overcoming some of the difficulties associated with the 3D printing technology are also discussed.

Polymer‐based RP was used to fabricate two‐aircraft models, which included stiffening metallic inserts. Testing in a subsonic‐wind tunnel was carried out and the results compared to analytic performance predictions.

Low‐cost rapid prototypes of wind‐tunnel models yielded satisfactory aerodynamic performance. The savings in acquisition cost and time allowed incorporating actual testing in the aircraft design process within the framework of a tight academic budget and schedule.

Conducting real‐wind‐tunnel testing contributes significantly to the educational experience of students; however, it had rarely been carried out when metal model fabrication was the only option. In contrast, RP facilitates an enhanced and more realistic learning experience by offering a quick and affordable means of model manufacturing.

Simple methods of reinforcing polymer‐based models were incorporated, thus presenting an inexpensive way to test and evaluate preliminary aircraft designs, in both academia and industry.

THE setting of the Institute's annual meetings is a splendid stage that never changes and where the play is performed only once. This year, more than ever before, it was a play worth attending. Nor could one complain of the attendance, though there were fewer executives present; the leaders of the aviation business are probably too busy facing the hardships of the times.

Suggests that the next civil supersonic passenger aircraft project will pose a number of challenges. The propulsion system for this aircraft will have to achieve economic operation for both supersonic and subsonic cruise modes. In addition, the current and intended noise and pollutant emissions legislation will have to be met. Suggests that, while there are a number of proposed engines for the next generation civil supersonic aircraft, they all exhibit difficulties in meeting the compromises inherent in the engine duty. Offers a novel solution based on a unique design. Discusses the underlying issues and presents the design based on retractable fans driven by a single stage double pass tip turbine.