Design and Optimisation of a 19 Passenger Turbofan Regional Transport 1999-01-5579

During this study, the conceptual design of a 19 passenger turbofan transport aimed primarily at the regional/ commuter market was synthesised. Final configuration selection was based on a method conceived by the author which incorporates a hybrid of the conventional intuitive conceptual design process with overtones of a non-hierarchic multi-disciplinary optimisation philosophy. To ensure validity of the aforementioned design and optimisation algorithms, the General Aviation Synthesis Program (GASP) software developed by NASA-Ames Research Centre and subsequently refined by Williams- Rolls Inc. was used. In addition, attention was paid during the design sequence to minimise the alterations necessary for variants of the basic design, i.e. future extended range and stretched versions. The final proposal ended with a vehicle that displays marketing flexibility, competitive field performance, superior climb capability with significant increases in block speed, and more poignantly, higher potential for profit upon comparison to contemporary turboprops.