The Changing Balance of Design Requirements

The two goals of maximum reliability and minimum maintenance costs occupy the energies of today's designers to an ever increasing extent. This was made clear in the contributions to a symposium on the ever changing balance of design requirements which dealt with reactions from various sources. From the manufacturers of aircraft which may have a ‘lead‐time’ of up to 6 years from original market research, a considerable amount of predictions must be made regarding future technological and economic trends as well as market potential. Hawker Siddeley Aviation's speaker referred to the increasing complexity of aircraft and air traffic control equipment and therefore, the increased costs to be balanced by increased productivity. It is the HSA Group's policy to treat aircraft maintenance cost as a major design parameter, targetting and control being undertaken by the design department in a similar fashion to weight and performance control.