An Open Mind, But Feet On The Ground

摘要

Aerospace engineers occasionally come up with so-lutions to seemingly insurmountable challenges.rnThis year's 40th anniversaries of the Moon landing and the maiden flight of Concorde leap to mind. But even the most enthusiastic industry proponents accept that history is littered with abortive attempts to bring disruptive technologies into the mainstream.rnCommercial aviation is approaching a crossroads at which it must decide whether to adopt radical propulsion concepts that require a rethink of fundamental aspects of its operations. The proposed use of open rotor powerplants on the next generation of 150-seat airliner families makes for great marketing publicity and is effective in attracting research euros from governments,rnbut industry needs to take a realistic view of the obstacles that lie ahead.