Design for Economy

A Paper presented at the Conference of the International Federation of Airworthiness, the theme of which was ‘maintenance and economics’, and which took place in an atmosphere shadowed by the effects of world oil shortages and escalating oil prices on the costs — and indeed on the whole structure — of airline operations. If this is the most obvious influence upon costs it is certainly not the only factor involved. Raw material prices continue to rise, and certain alloying elements such as cobalt which are essential ingredients of today's high temperature metals are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Environmental pressures continue to exercise considerable influence upon the airlines and the aerospace industry, and whilst none would argue the importance of preserving our environment, the task of reducing noise and other forms of pollution from aircraft gas turbine engines cannot be fulfilled without considerable cost to both parties.