A Technology Partnership for the New Millennium

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2.10 Civil Tiltrotor Aircraft

 Because a tiltrotor airliner can take off and land vertically, there are two major benefits of a CTR:
  • A tiltrotor aircraft can add additional capacity to an airport and reduce delays.
  • Significant reduction of door-to-door trip times for passengers, by circumventing ground and air congestion

40-passenger tiltrotor airliner concept

This 40-passenger tiltrotor airliner concept would not need a runway, because it takes off vertically.

Expansion of the capacity and reduction of the runway congestion at the busiest airports by permitting some short-haul traffic (trips of less than 500 miles) to shift to tiltrotors, freeing runway space for larger aircraft. NASA's Civil Tiltrotor research is developing the most critical vehicle technologies for a civil tiltrotor:
  • Efficient, low-noise proprotor
  • Integrated cockpit for minimum pilot workload during low-noise approaches and departures near congested terminal areas
  • Safe and cost-effective contingency power capability for emergencies when one engine is inoperative.

Regarding a tiltrotor airliner using simultaneous non-interfering approaches:

  • A January 1999 FAA study indicates that one tiltrotor vertiport at Newark International Airport can provide 50 percent as much delay reduction as a new runway.
  • The difference in up-front infrastructure costs ($3B for the average new runway versus $17M for a vertiport added to the airport) makes the tiltrotor an attractive prospect.

NASA POC:
Dr. John Zuk
650-604-6568
jzuk@mail.arc.nasa.gov

 
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