The sum of all parts
Posted by JLow on Jun 23, 2010
One of the visits on our recent IVLP trips was to find out and learn about what the top brains are researching into, with regards to aviation and the impact on the climate- MIT.
One of the presenters was Dr. Philippe Bonnefoy, who gave us both the scientific research findings as well as the business implications, or justifications of why the aviation industry has been doing all these decades.
I just wanted to show you some of the grabbing facts and figures that are quite daunting.
Historical and future trends
The sum of all aviation parts
I would like to draw your attention to the second slide above.
After being blown away at first glance of that formula, but taking the time to examine each part of the formula it started to make sense to us- it was a summation of all parts of the aviation industry.
If you cannot see it properly, what is written in blue, from left to right, are:
“Demand (passenger traffic)”;
“1/average load factor”;
“1/aircraft size (fleet mix)”;
“Empty mass”;
“Payload mass”;
“Flight range and speed”;
“Propulsion (spec. fuel consumption)”;
“Aerodynamics (drag/lift)”;
“Fuel properties (alternative fuels)”.
We were amazed and glad that such research measures and efforts are being undertaken by this most-developed country; in looking for ways of mitigating the impact of all of aviation’s activities.
* Note the reference to ICAT; which are MIT International Center for Air Transportation:
