Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 26. Preliminary design

August 25, 2023, ©. Leeham News: We described the different phases of an airliner development program last week. We will look at the Preliminary design phase this week, what work is done, the tools used, and how it… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 15. Airframe for lower Induced drag

June 1, 2023, ©. Leeham News: Last week, we examined ways to lower the dominant drag of an airliner, the air friction drag (Figure 1). Now we look at the second largest drag component, the Induced drag, and… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 14. Airframe for lower friction drag

May 26, 2023, ©. Leeham News: This is a summary of the article Part 14P. Airframe for lower friction drag. The article discusses in detail a Blended Wing Body (BWB) type airframe and how it reduces the wetted… Read More

The Small Airliner Problem, Part 6

Subscription required By Bjorn Fehrm May 25, 2023, © Leeham News: In our series about the viability of the business plans for small airliners (nine to 50 seats), we have covered the cost factors that make up the… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 13. Friction drag

May 19, 2023, ©. Leeham News: Last week, we looked at the different drag types (Figure 1) that reduce an airframe’s efficiency. We now look at the major drag types in more detail and what can be done… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 12P. Airframe efficiency improvement

Subscription required By Bjorn Fehrm May 12, 2023, ©. Leeham News: This is a complementary article to Part 12. Airframe efficiency improvement. It discusses in detail the next-generation airframe improvements we can expect. We start with detailing the… Read More

The production cost trap for eVTOL upstarts

Subscription required By Bjorn Fehrm April 13, 2023, © Leeham News: Last week, we gave the example of a new propulsion principle 30-seat airliner as a project that would face the liquidity strain of initial production costs. We… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 7. Propulsion

April 7, 2023, ©. Leeham News: This is a summary of the article New aircraft technologies. Part 7P. Propulsion. The article discusses how developments in the next-generation airliner propulsion system will be the second most important area for… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 7P. Propulsion

Subscription required By Bjorn Fehrm April 7, 2023, ©. Leeham News: This is a complementary article to Part 7. Propulsion. It discusses in detail the next-generation propulsion systems and what to expect from their possible increase in performance… Read More

The production cost trap for upstarts

Subscription Required By Bjorn Fehrm April 6, 2023, © Leeham News: The last five years have been among the busiest in aeronautical history, with announcements of new aircraft and VTOLs based on greener propulsion technologies. The public focus… Read More