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LESSON 4 The Jet Era in Commercial Flight

HE JET is the technology that shrank Quick Write the world. Jet fl y faster and higher T than planes. That cuts down travel time and brings distant places closer. And 1958 was the year of the commercial jet. In that year After reading the vignette, why do you think commercial US airlines introduced jet service on both overseas and airlines were slow to start domestic fl ights. using jet ? Jet developed through the 1930s and . World War II and the saw the deployment of military jets. But commercial airlines took their time in adopting the new technology. Learn About The airlines hesitated because jet engines were very • how a works different from the engines in propeller aircraft. • developments in These differences made jets an expensive investment. commercial jet aircraft Jet engines burned much hotter than the engines in • the switch to air travel propeller aircraft. So they had to be made of alloys. in the • future commercial aircraft An alloy is a combination of different metals—or of metal and nonmetal—fused for strength, resistance to corrosion, or other desired qualities. Alloys cost more than single metals. Jet engines also used more fuel. Planes with jet engines had higher takeoff speeds. So they needed longer runways. In view of these differences, airlines understandably took a wait-and-see attitude toward the new technology. But , chief executive of Pan American Airways, didn’t want to wait. He’d already pioneered transoceanic air service with the “fl ying boats” known as Clippers. Trippe wanted to see Pan Am fl y nonstop across the oceans. Some people thought that Comet jets would achieve this goal. A British manufacturer, De Havilland, built the Comet. But after a couple of crashes, the Comet’s promise faded.

246 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Take Off LESSON 4 The Jet Era in Commercial Flight

Who would now take the lead? Trippe decided to play Douglas and off against each other. Vocabulary These companies were two of America’s largest • alloy manufacturers. They competed for Pan Am’s business. • metal fatigue Douglas offered the DC-8 and Boeing the 707. • turbine engine In October 1955 Pan Am signed on to buy 20 of the • reciprocating engine 707 jets and 25 of the DC-8s. Two years later, Boeing • propulsion rolled out its fi rst 707. And on 26 October 1958 Pan • weight American introduced jet service from New York to • tri-jet London, with a stop in Newfoundland. • supersonic • sonic boom The fi rst fl ight had 111 passengers. That was more • consortium people than had ever boarded a single regularly • de-ice scheduled fl ight. • jet lag The fare was about the same as for a propeller plane: • carbon fi ber $272. It sounds like a good deal, but in 2016 dollars, • confi gurations • composite materials that ticket would cost about $2,265. • hypersonic fl ight The new service was a huge success. Several other airlines quickly adopted the 707. Pan Am continued to forge ahead. Within a year, it was able to get rid of the Newfoundland layover. It introduced nonstop service on -320s. Pan Am set the standard for the industry. The era of passenger jet travel had a slow start. But once it took off, it soared. Around the world, airlines moved quickly to replace propeller planes with jets. Boeing 707 Ivan Cholakov/Shutterstock

LESSON 4 The Jet Era in Commercial Flight 247 Juan Trippe—Pan Am’s Pioneering Chief

JUAN TERRY TRIPPE (1899–1981) was the founder and longtime chief executive of Pan American Airways or Pan Am. Trippe was born in Sea Bright, New Jersey. His ancestors were English seafarers who came to Maryland in the 17th century. While in his 20s, Trippe used some inherited money to launch Airways in New York. That venture failed. He tried again. This time he invested in Colonial Air. It fl ew mail routes between and Boston. But Trippe had bigger things in mind. He wanted to develop air routes in the Caribbean and South America. In 1927 he launched Pan Am. Under his leadership, it became the largest and most successful international airline in the world. Trippe understood that success in the airline business meant knowing both economics and politics. So he reached out to aircraft builders and politicians as well as the public. Trippe greatly improved Pan Am’s passenger service. He helped develop new aircraft, from the Boeing 707s and DC-8s to the Boeing 747. He was president of the airline until 1968.

How a Jet Engine Works

A Greek named Hero of Alexandria invented a type of jet engine around 100 BC. But the history of modern jet engines begins with . An engineer, he was also an offi cer in the British . On 16 January 1930 Whittle got a patent for his design of a jet aircraft engine. Unfortunately, the British government wasn’t interested in this new technology until World War II broke out. But the German government was very interested in developing a jet engine and used Whittle’s engine design to build its own. The Luftwaffe fl ew the fi rst operational jet aircraft in 1942. On 26 July 1944, a German Me-262 became the fi rst jet About 100 BC, Hero of Alexandria developed airplane used in combat. this simple engine called an aeolipile. Morphart Creation/Shutterstock

248 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Aviation Take Off Commercial and General Aviation Take Off 249 david muscroft/Shutterstock.com A research version Comet jet aircraft. Note the round windows— Note the round Comet jet aircraft. version A research fatal which proved windows, the original Comets had square ight. in fl J31 on display in the Research and Development and Development and Development Research Research on display in the on display in the Electric J31 Electric J31 General General Air Force the United States Gallery at the National Museum of Courtesy US Air Force —a slow weakening Jet Era in Commercial Flight The metal fatigue LESSON 4 That’s what happened to the British jets. The square windows on the two Comets what happened to the British jets. The square windows on the two Comets That’s The accidents broke up in the air. aircraft take the stress and pressure. The couldn’t a lot from them. The were setbacks for British aviation. But manufacturers learned today have rounded windows. why all jet aircraft It’s result was much safer aircraft. But in 1954 two Comets had two Comets had But in 1954 fatal accidents. Structural failure ying at fl was the cause. Aircraft high speeds and high altitudes are subject to enormous stress and pressure. This can lead to by in metal caused of strength deformation,repeated vibration, or like what happens . It’s other stress when you bend a paper clip back and forth. Eventually it breaks. The Comet transformed air travel. The Comet transformed air travel. ew at 500 mph. It soared at It fl altitudes of up to 30,000 feet. On 2 May 1952 the British the British On 2 May 1952 Overseas Airways Corporation rst regular jet airline started the fi ew De Havilland service. It fl Comets between London and Johannesburg, South Africa. In September 1941, the US Army the US 1941, In September to build their decided Air Forces ghter. of a jet fi own version 1941 began in late Design work On engine. Whittle’s based on Robert 1942, 1 and 2 October ights test fl rst fi Stanley made the Airacomet, of the Bell XP 59-A Two at Muroc, . engines J31 General Electric to power the were later used of the new production version jet aircraft. The Science Behind Jet Engines

The word turbine means whirl or spinning top. A turbine engine, or jet engine, is an engine driven by a moving fl uid, such as water, steam, or air, that pushes against blades or paddles attached to a central shaft. Hot fl owing gases power the turbine engines in aircraft. Some turbine engines connect to propellers. The materials and engineering that go into a jet engine are complex. But the operation of a jet engine is simple. A jet engine takes in air and accelerates it to extremely high speeds through an exhaust nozzle. The fast-moving air pushes the plane forward. This is the thrust force generated by the engine. Jet engines have rotating parts. These parts can spin at tens of thousands of revolutions per minute. A jet’s spinning motions make it different from a reciprocating engine—an engine powered by pistons that go back and forth. Most of the aircraft you’ve read about so far had reciprocating internal-combustion engines.

FIGURE 4.3 Sections and Parts of a Simplifi ed

250 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Aviation Take Off Commercial and General Aviation Take Off 251 , the burner (combustor), Douglas DC-8. In the 1970s, Braniff Airlines had the artist Airlines had the artist Braniff Braniff In the 1970s, In the 1970s, Douglas DC-8. Douglas DC-8. to travel Alexander Calder paint this plane to promote South America. Courtesy National Air and Space Museum, NASM-9A0276 the force that directly opposes lift. that directly the force is . There are two basic types of jet propulsion: of jet propulsion: types basic are two . There force or propelling a driving is t Weigh Jet Era in Commercial Flight The

Developments in Commercial Jet Aircraft Jet Developments in Commercial n Propulsio LESSON 4 The 707—Pan Am’s choice for its Am’s The 707—Pan new transatlantic service in 1958— soon became the standard long-range jet. But airlines had other options: the Douglas DC-8 and the Convair 880 and 890. By the mid-1950s Boeing had been Boeing By the mid-1950s building militaryyears. That jets for experience helped Boeing build aviation Once again, civil the 707. ted from lessons learned benefi building military aircraft. Aeronautics has a special defi nition of weight. That defi nition relates to the basic forces weight. That defi nition of Aeronautics has a special defi ight. of fl But the biggest advantage of turbine engines is that they produce more thrust per pound that they produce more thrust advantage of turbine engines is But the biggest engines do. As a result, turbine engines can carryof engine weight than reciprocating heavier loads. Turbine engines have many advantages over reciprocating engines. Turbine engines engines Turbine over reciprocating engines. engines have many advantages Turbine than slide their parts spin, rather They vibrate less because y higher and faster. can fl much air. it takes in so because Cooling a turbine engine is easier back and forth. The Advantages of the Jet Engine of the Jet Advantages The with so possible to load an aircraft have to think about weight. It’s always Aviators weight an take off. The more baggage that it can’t many passengers and so much engine can lift, the better. All turbine engines have fi inlet, the compressor basic parts: the ve have fi All turbine engines and pure jet. Both use a engine. In a turboprop, the gas turbine the gas turbine In a turboprop, turbine engine. Both use a gas and pure jet. turboprop but the propeller some thrust, jet exhaust provides The to a propeller. is connected from the jet exhaust. thrust comes a pure jet, all the most of it. In provides exhaust (nozzle). the turbine, and the Jets Get Smaller

Soon manufacturers started building smaller jets. These smaller jets worked well for short hauls. For example, in 1959 put a new jet—the Caravelle I— into service. The French company Sud-Est Aviation built it. The Caravelle had an engine on each side of the rear fuselage. It was the fi rst short-haul jet. It carried up to 90 passengers. Only one US carrier, United Airlines, fl ew the Caravelle. But the French aircraft had a big infl uence on American manufacturers. Soon they, too, started building smaller jets. They wanted to offer the benefi ts of jet speed, altitude, and comfort on shorter routes. In February 1963 Boeing introduced the 727. It was versatile, but noisy. Boeing produced more than 1,700 of these tri-jet aircraft. A tri-jet is an aircraft with three Caravelle I in Istanbul Airlines colors engines. The 727 was good for smaller EvrenKalinbacak/Shutterstock with shorter runways and fewer passengers. Douglas introduced its short-haul jet, the DC-9, in 1965. The company merged with McDonnell Aircraft Corp. in 1967, forming McDonnell Douglas.

Douglas DC-9 operated by Hawaiian Air Courtesy National Air and Space Museum/Ron Davies Photo Collection, 9A10179

252 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Aviation Take Off Commercial and General Aviation Take Off 253 climbing into the sky after takeoff Boeing 737 climbing into the sky after Dejan Milinkovic/Shutterstock Boeing 727Boeing 727 InsectWorld/Shutterstock Boeing 737-900 operated by United Airlines Airlines by United by United Boeing 737-900 operated Boeing 737-900 operated Tupungato/Shutterstock Jet Era in Commercial Flight The The 737 went through several generations and became the most popular plane in commercial rst In 2012 it became the fi history. jetliner to sell more commercial Boeing planes. By 2014, than 10,000 was building 42 737s a month. The company planned to increase the total to 52 a month by 2018. carried rst model in 1967 The fi passengers; recent models 107 can carry up to about 220. Faced with competition from from competition with Faced and British Aircraft the DC-9 Boeing BAC 1-11, Corporation’s It the 737 in 1967. introduced from several features incorporated but featured the 707 and 727, made possible six-abreast seating, under the wings.by engines mounted operate even at The plane could elds. unimproved fi small airports or meant there Its new technology ight need for a fl was no longer a ight the two-person fl engineer—soon deck was the standard for all carriers. LESSON 4 Jumbo Jets

In April 1966 Boeing announced plans for the wide-body 747. It made its fi rst fl ight in 1969. Airlines started fl ying it the next year. The 747 can carry up to 600 passengers and crew. It dwarfed the 707. The aisle of the 747’s economy-class section alone was longer than the Wright brothers’ historic 1903 fl ight. The 747 was designed for long haul fl ights that would normally require other aircraft to make refueling stops. Boeing 747s can fl y United Airlines Boeing 747 non-stop from New York City to Hong Kong, Vytautas Kielaitis/Shutterstock China. Some models even had an upstairs cocktail lounge for fi rst class passengers. Boeing is still building 747s, and airline companies around the world are still fl ying them. Even people who don’t know much about aircraft can spot a 747. It has a distinctive bump on the top of its fuselage. Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas were not far behind Boeing. They announced plans for jumbo jets in 1966. Both companies rolled out their new planes in 1970. The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 came out in August. The Lockheed L-1011 followed in Lockheed L-1011 operated by Euro Atlantic November. Both aircraft can carry as many InsectWorld/Shutterstock as 350 passengers. They can fl y nonstop up to 4,000 miles. Like the Boeing 747, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 are still in use, although the last two are used mostly to carry cargo.

McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 operated by Avient Aviation InsectWorld/Shutterstock

254 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Aviation Take Off Commercial and General Aviation Take Off 255 means c Supersoni

An Air France on display in Paris Concorde Air France An Senohrabek/Shutterstock Jet Era in Commercial Flight The Flying in a Concorde may have been exciting, but it wasn’t always comfortable. always comfortable. been exciting, but it wasn’t Flying in a Concorde may have of the narrow fuselage, and the windows were tiny. Headroom was limited because for a one-way ticket and it could cost $7,000 It was also expensive—by the 2000s, for a round-trip fare. $10,000 British Airways operated Concorde fl ights twice daily between London and New York, London and New York, ights twice daily between British Airways fl operated Concorde ew and Paris. Both airlines fl New York ew once a day between while Air France fl ights to other destinations. charter fl The United States and Soviet Union both developed SSTs as well. But the Boeing as well. SSTs and Soviet Union both developed The United States Tu-144 Tupolev the Soviet Then in 1973, cancelled in 1971. 2707 program was ight. This greatly delayed fl Air Show during a demonstration crashed at the Paris a few ew for only fl but entered passenger servicenally in 1977, It fi its development. for technical and safety reasons. servicemonths. It was withdrawn from in 1978 . An engineering marvel, mph). An engineering (about 770 the speed of sound faster than the Concorde than twice the mph—more travel at 1,350 passengers and could carry about 100 and could travel from London at an altitude of 60,000 feet ew It fl speed of sound. a British businessperson could three-and-a-half hours. This meant in to New York evening. and return home the same for a meeting y to New York fl LESSON 4 In 1976, the French company Aérospatiale and British Aircraft Corporation introduced Corporation Aircraft and British company Aérospatiale the French In 1976, service. to passenger (SST) Concorde transport the supersonic The Concorde The plane was also very loud, which at fi rst led to diffi culties in obtaining permission to land in the United States. The Secretary of Transportation himself had to approve it. Many countries refused fl yover rights because of the sonic boom the Concorde created. A sonic boom is a pressure wave created when an aircraft fl ies faster than the speed of sound, heard on the ground as a crack or boom. In addition, the SST was not very fuel effi cient and cost a lot to maintain. Even so, the Concorde fl ew commercially until 2003. Several factors ended the program. The price of fuel kept increasing. A fatal crash in Paris in 2000 led to expensive modifi cations. Finally, the number of air passengers decreased for several years following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. Currently no SST is operating commercially, although manufacturers have plans on the drawing board for new ones.

A Global Industry

Until 1978 American manufacturers dominated the global aircraft industry. US manufacturers had 85 percent of the world market at that time. But other countries soon started to catch up. US manufacturers felt heat from Airbus Industrie, a European consortium that was working on an aircraft called the A-310 advanced technology transport. A consortium is an association of companies for some specifi c purpose. American manufacturers responded to this competitive threat. They came up with new products of their own. McDonnell-Douglas brought out its DC-9 Super 80. Boeing developed its 757 and 767. Lockheed ended commercial aircraft production in 1984 because the L-1011 proved unprofi table. Lockheed and Martin Marietta then combined in 1995 to form the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged in 1997. In 2001, Airbus became a single company. operated by UTAir Aviation Nordroden/Shutterstock

256 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Aviation Take Off Commercial and General Aviation Take Off 257 Airbus A380 exhibition fl ight at ILA Berlin Air Show on 11 June 2010 in in 2010 2010 June June Air Show on 11 Air Show on 11 ight at ILA Berlin ight at ILA Berlin A380 exhibition fl A380 exhibition fl Airbus Airbus Germany Berlin, Klimmeck/Shutterstock Tom Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by ANA airlines by operated Boeing 787 Dreamliner Mike Fuchslocher/Shutterstock Jet Era in Commercial Flight The the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has carbon-fi composite wings and can ber which has carbon-fi the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carry passengers, and between 242 and 330 ever built. It can transport from aircraft the Airbus 380, the largest commercial 544 to 853 passengers. the Boeing 777, which can take between 213 and 396 passengers, can take between 213 which the Boeing 777, • • • Today Boeing and Airbus are the world’s major competitors in aircraft manufacturing. major competitors in aircraft Boeing and Airbus are the world’s Today are: Among their latest aircraft LESSON 4 Learning from Disaster: The Crash of Air Florida Flight 90

Air safety is essential to keeping the public’s trust in the air travel system. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates all air and other transportation accidents. It then makes recommendations to the FAA and the airlines on changes to make the system safer. Take, for example, the crash of an Air Florida jet on a snowy day in Washington, D.C., in 1982. Safety experts and the industry learned lessons from that accident that have made fl ight safer for everyone. Seconds after taking off from Washington National on 13 January 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 slammed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River. The crash killed 78 passengers, crew members, and motorists. Federal investigators from the NTSB found a big problem afterward: a copilot who couldn’t persuade the pilot it wasn’t safe to take off. They also found errors in the way the plane was de-iced. To de-ice an aircraft is to remove ice from external surfaces of the airplane using specially formulated chemicals. The aircraft was covered with ice. Investigators believe that ice kept the plane’s instruments from giving a true reading. The copilot noticed something wrong. He mentioned it to the pilot. But when the pilot ignored him, he didn’t speak up again. The silence was fatal. One lesson: leaders need to make clear that it’s OK to ask questions or point out problems. And followers need to know they have the right to speak up. “This accident was pivotal because it helped draw attention to the fact that pilots need to communicate better,” Robert L. Sumwalt III, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and a former airline pilot, told in 2007. “I don’t know of any other accident that has had this amount of impact on aviation but also in other industries,” he added. The maritime and rail industries also learned a lot from the Air Florida crash. So have hospital executives concerned about medical errors. At the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, for instance, surgical teams now use checklists similar to the ones pilots use. Medical center staff adapted these lists to cover the steps necessary for a safe surgical procedure. An operating team, like the team controlling a plane, has many members. Each team member has a vital role in safety. The last item on the Nebraska team’s checklist refl ects a lesson straight from Flight 90: “If anybody sees any red fl ags, something they are uncomfortable with, bring it to [the surgeon’s] attention.”

258 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Aviation Take Off Commercial and General Aviation Take Off 259 fatigue and is Jet lag Jet Era in Commercial Flight The The Switch to Air Travel in the United States in the Travel Air to The Switch LESSON 4 Jet travel even brought a new term into the language: jet lag. into the language: jet Jet travel even brought a new term Jet travel let American students spend summers in Europe. Middle class families Jet travel let American students could cross the country a long weekend to ski or surf or visit grandma. over Jet travel literally brought people around the world closer together. Friends on two around the world closer together. Jet travel literally brought people Services such as the Eastern touch much more easily. continents could now keep in Airlines Shuttle), which required no reservations,Air Shuttle (now the American let moment. They could make day trips between y on the spur of the business people fl and Washington. Boston, New York, The Impact of the Jet Engine on the Commercial Flight Industry Commercial Engine on the The Impact of the Jet When airlines switched to jets, they had to improve their maintenance standards. When airlines switched to jets, they had to improve their maintenance employees. That meant better facilities on the ground and better-trained By 1966 the scale had signifi direction of air travel. An estimated cantly tipped in the scale had signifi the By 1966 89 percent Of these, that year. crossed the North Atlantic 5,322,000 passengers traveled by air. thicker runways. airports as well. They built longer, The jet era brought changes to These let more than one O’Hare Airport introduced parallel runways. Chicago’s enclosed through their aircraft or take off at a time. Passengers boarded land aircraft passenger stairs. “jet bridges” instead of the old-fashioned In 1958, the year the fi the number of jets were introduced, rst commercial year the fi the In 1958, transatlantic rst time, more for the fi 30 million. In that year, passengers reached than by sea. at their destinations by air passengers arrived time zones on a jet. of crossing sleep disturbance as a result In 1940 airlines of the United States carried around about 3 million passengers. around about 3 million passengers. of the United States carried airlines In 1940 million. carried 17 they In 1950 As air travel became cheaper, safer, and more accessible, bus and train service bus and and more accessible, safer, became cheaper, As air travel areas. populated except in densely dwindled, Pros and Cons of Commercial Flight Travel for Passengers

Today, the US economy—indeed, the economy of much of the world—depends greatly on the safety and effi ciency of domestic and international air travel. The Wright brothers’ short fl ight in 1903 has changed civilian life as much, if not more, than it did military history. Still, some travelers weigh the pros and cons before they fl y.

Pros Jet airplanes offer passengers one big advantage: speed. And because fl ying is faster, a transcontinental fl ight is usually more comfortable than a cross-country bus or train ride. A fl ight across the ocean is far more comfortable than a weeklong voyage by ship. Passengers on business or vacation save precious time by fl ying. Many parts of the world are accessible only by air. Jetliners can soar over miles of terrain that have no roads. They can fl y over oceans to reach places once accessible only by ship.

The Heroes of United 93

MODERN AVIATION is a world of routines, procedures, and checklists. But sometimes people have to act fast. They have to improvise. They have to fi nd within themselves the ability to cope with situations they could never have imagined. The heroic actions of the passengers of United Flight 93 on 11 September 2001 are an example. On that day terrorists hijacked four aircraft at almost the same time. They planned to turn the planes into guided missiles. As you read in Lesson 1, the terrorists used two jetliners to bring down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. They slammed a third plane into the Pentagon, outside Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 people died in these attacks. No one knows for sure what the hijackers intended to do with the fourth plane. That plane, United 93, was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to . It had 37 passengers aboard, including four hijackers. The hijackers took over the plane at 9:28 a.m. They reprogrammed the autopilot system for a new destination—Washington, D.C. At 9:32 a.m. one of the hijackers announced there was a bomb on the plane. This was a lie. The terrorists made the announcement to explain why the aircraft had changed its course abruptly in the air over northeastern Ohio. Passengers and crew made phone calls from the plane. They learned about the attacks on the World Trade Center. They decided to rush the terrorists and try to retake the plane. At 9:57 a.m., 29 minutes after the hijackers took over, the passengers made their move. As they tried to break through to the cockpit, the hijacker pilot rolled the plane from side to side. He pushed its nose up and down, trying to throw the counterattacking passengers and crew off balance. The passengers continued their brave effort. They were seconds away from breaking through when the pilot turned the plane upside down and pushed the nose of the plane earthward.

260 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Aviation Take Off Commercial and General Aviation Take Off 261 Jet Era in Commercial Flight The The Memorial Plaza and Wall of Names at the Flight 93 National Memorial in of Names at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Wall Wall The Memorial Plaza and The Memorial Plaza and Pennsylvania Shanksville, Courtesy National Park Service LESSON 4 “We are sure that the nation owes a debt to the passengers of United 93.” the report also said. that the nation owes a debt to the passengers of United 93.” the report sure are “We either the US Capitol “Their actions saved the lives of countless others, and may have saved destruction.” or the White House from The hijacker pilot’s objective “was to crash his airliner into symbols of the American Republic,” objective “was to crash his airliner into symbols of the The hijacker pilot’s stated. “He was defeated by the unarmed, alerted passengers Commission report the 9/11 of United 93.” At 10:03 a.m., United 93 plowed into a fi eld in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was all over in less into a fi a.m., United 93 plowed At 10:03 than seven minutes. Finally, travelers who want to see places, rather than just fl y over them, prefer rather than just fl travelers who want to see places, Finally, trains, buses, or cars. Flying has become much safer. But some people are still nervous But some about being much safer. Flying has become Also, ying uncomfortable. sensations of fl nd the fi Some ned in an aircraft. confi away target. Some people stay planes have become a major in an age of terrorism, they worryfrom planes because the security Some are put off by about hijackings. to prevent terrorism. must go through at airports checks passengers Air travel has disadvantages, too. Some people still can’t afford it. Airport security it. Airport security afford people still can’t too. Some has disadvantages, Air travel of air travel. speed advantage defeats the That sometimes to travel times. has added in the northeastern the system. Especially havoc with delays can play Weather than more quickly to their destinations get travelers a train may United States, a plane. Cons Future Commercial Aircraft

The commercial aircraft of the near future will look a lot like those currently in service—only updated and more effi cient. In the longer term, however, some provocative ideas are on the drawing board, including a return to supersonic fl ight. Airbus was scheduled to introduce its new A321neo (new engine option) by the end of 2016. At time of printing, the company holds a 70 percent share of the market for medium-size midrange jets. The A321neo carries 240 passengers. Boeing is laying plans to respond with a new plane that would carry 270 passengers and serve the market between the largest 737 and the 787 Dreamliner. The company also plans to introduce a larger version of its 737 Max to carry 250 passengers. The new planes would take the place of the 757 and 767 in Boeing’s lineup. Boeing also plans to introduce a new long-range jet, the 777X, in 2020. A much larger aircraft, it would carry 350 to 400 passengers. It will feature carbon-fi ber wings with folding tips, an advanced fuel-effi cient engine, larger windows, and a wider cabin. Carbon fi ber is a very strong lightweight synthetic material made by heating acrylic fi ber to very high temperatures. The aircraft of the future may include several new design features: • more-effi cient wings in different confi gurations—setups for different purposes • more-effi cient tail sections, including perhaps no vertical tail at all • higher-effi ciency engines that burn less fuel and run more quietly— some may be integrated into the fuselage • more use of lighter-weight composite materials, including more recyclable and environmentally friendly materials ( composite materials are materials made from two or more different materials that, when combined, have properties neither has Some industry ideas designed for NASA of aircraft that by itself) burn less fuel, emit fewer harmful emissions, and make less noise • fuselages that have different Courtesy NASA shapes from the simple tube shape used today

262 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Aviation Take Off Commercial and General Aviation Take Off 263 Boeing’s SUGAR Volt design for NASA design for NASA Volt Volt SUGAR SUGAR Boeing’s Boeing’s Courtesy NASA/The Boeing Company Jet Era in Commercial Flight The Meanwhile, in 2016 NASA announced that it would begin development with NASA Meanwhile, in 2016 more quietly. Lockheed Martin of a new SST that will break the main barrier the (QueSST), it aims to overcome Called Quiet SuperSonic Technology to build on ight today—the noise from sonic booms. NASA hopes to supersonic fl noise by ed plane shapes to cut sonic-boom earlier experiments that used modifi attempt yet at about one-third. If Congress funds it, QueSST would be the biggest reducing this noise. In a NASA program, Boeing is working on a hybrid electric-plane concept engineers In a NASA program, Boeing is Much research.) aircraft (SUGAR stands for subsonic ultragreen call “SUGAR Volt” high power is needed, as for takeoffs, it would use jet fuel when like a hybrid car, then switch to battery power for the turbines when cruising. Engineers are also the use of petroleumworking to develop biofuels made from plant material to reduce fuel and its greenhouse gases. LESSON 4 An artist’s concept of a possible Low Boom Flight Demonstration Quiet (QueSST) X-plane design Courtesy NASA/Lockheed Martin

Elsewhere, Virgin Group announced in March 2016 that it would partner with a company called Boom to develop an SST using existing technology. The plane would be more cost-effi cient than the Concorde and allow people to fl y round-trip from New York to London for $5,000. Finally, several organizations are conducting research into hypersonic fl ight— fl ight fi ve times the speed of sound or faster. A plane traveling that fast could fl y from London to New York in less than an hour. Airbus has already obtained a patent for a hypersonic aircraft. While such planes are probably decades in the future, researchers believe they are possible. Certainly the technology used in their development will transform air travel as you know it today.

264 CHAPTER 4 Commercial and General Aviation Take Off Commercial and General Aviation Take Off 265

Jet Era in Commercial Flight The

How would widespread supersonic air travel change the world? What would How would widespread supersonic what would be some bad ones? be some good consequences, and Why do jet engines have to be made of alloys? Why do jet engines two Comet crashes of 1954? What caused the reciprocating engines? do turbine engines have over What advantages makes it easy to spot? about the Boeing 747 that What is distinctive the Concorde program? What factors ended to airports? What changes did the jet era bring planes offer passengers? What one big advantage do jet of the future may include? aircraft What are some design features to London in a York y from New How long would it take to fl hypersonic aircraft? CHECKPOINTS CHECKPOINTS CHECKPOINTS CHECKPOINTS CHECKPOINTS CHECKPOINTS CHECKPOINTS APPLYING YOUR YOUR LEARNING APPLYING 10. Using complete sentences, answer the following questions on a sheet of paper. questions on a sheet of paper. sentences, answer the following Using complete 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Lesson 4 Review Lesson ✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔ LESSON 4