The Economic Impact of R & D on Aircraft Design Available to Purchase

A condensed version of a paper on the effect on the ultimate economics of operation of advances in specific technical areas presented at the Spring Convention held by the Royal Aeronautical Society on the Economic Factors in Aviation. CIVIL transports tend to come to the fore in discussions with an economic flavour, because the civil scene can be thought about more readily in financial terms. Money is spent in setting up and operating a transport system, and money is then recouped by charging the people who use the aeroplanes for shifting themselves and their goods. Military aircraft cannot be fitted into such a neat buyer/seller framowork — you cannot buy a ticket for a ride in a strike fighter. Even so, on the military front studies of ‘cost effectiveness’ are also undoubtedly the order of the day.