Term Paper on "Aviation Personal Air Vehicles"

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Aviation - PERSONAL AIR VEHICLES

The introduction of a personal aircraft with a cost under $50,000, short take off and landing capability and the ability to safely travel on residential streets might have a significant impact on society, provided that regulations were relaxed enough to make the sale and use of such vehicles legal and practical. The initial changes would be small, as the infrastructure is not currently present to support the operation of aircraft from many of the locations people would want to use personal aircraft. Over time, airports would begin to appear in neighborhoods, at shopping malls and near busy workplaces. With the infrastructure in place, upper middle class commuters would be the likely early adopters of personal aircraft. Suburban middle class workers generally want access to the high-paying jobs and recreation options provided by a city, but prefer to live in areas with less population, more open space and fewer poor people. Personal aircraft would provide easy access to the city from much longer distances, resulting in a much larger radius for suburban development and increasing the gap between well-off suburban families and the urban lower-class. One of the primary reasons for using personal aircraft in many cities would be to avoid the severe traffic congestion that accompanies the traditional commute. While the use of aircraft would reduce highway traffic, the sky would become quite crowded, especially near major landing zones. As with traditional aircraft, strict air traffic control would be required for busy areas to prevent mid-air collisions. Having three dimensions in which to move does reduce the risk of collision with another vehicle; personal aircraft woul

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d probably be involved in far fewer multi-vehicle collisions than cars are. Most crashes would be single-vehicle accidents caused by user error. The social impact would ultimately depend on changes to regulation and infrastructure.

Aircraft design and flight are currently heavily regulated. The regulatory approval needed for significant design changes to aircraft models is so difficult to obtain that it is common for an aircraft design to remain in production for decades with few changes. The basic design of the Cessna 172, one of the most popular airplanes ever, has not changed since the mid 1960s. (Ericg)the original design dates to 1957, and is very similar to today's model. Obtaining a license to fly an aircraft is also difficult, requiring a significant amount of time and money. While it may be reasonable to require pilots to be well-trained, it is a barrier to the adoption of aircraft if it is many times more difficult to obtain a pilot's license than a driver's license. Given the number of people who die in car crashes, it might be beneficial to society if it was harder to obtain a driver's license, but until that is the case, more people will drive than fly, regardless of the availability of aircraft.

Cars are attractive because the infrastructure required for their use is already in place. Gasoline is sold on nearly every street corner, and there are streets almost everywhere people want to be. Airports, even landing strips for very small aircraft are rare in suburban residential areas, as well as urban commercial areas. If aircraft were subject to noise restrictions similar to those imposed on motorcycles, the addition of neighborhood airstrips might not be difficult, however, space is much more limited in commercial areas. It might be possible to convert the roofs of parking garages and shopping malls for aircraft use, but it might be impossible to make room for airstrips in some cities. Landing aircraft in areas crowded with tall buildings is more dangerous than operating from open fields. The buildings are not only a navigation hazard, but they also create dangerous wind currents. Some urban areas would likely support aircraft operations without huge changes, and some would not. Higher-income apartment complexes and shopping malls would be very likely to support aircraft operations. Some colleges might offer support for aircraft in order to attract upper-class students who want to remain living with their parents, but live too far away to commute by car.

Training is another barrier to the adoption of personal aircraft. It is not enough to be able to afford an aircraft; one must learn to fly it. Aviation historian Janet Daly Bednarek points out that flying is much harder than driving a car. (Boyle) Many people would not choose to spend the time to learn to fly in order to buy an aircraft as a secondary vehicle. Operating a vehicle in three dimensions is necessarily harder than two, and is complicated by the fact that most aircraft must maintain a minimum speed in order to fly. Even with advances in technology, flying will never be as easy as driving. There are, however, advances being made that will help bridge the gap. The Airscooter corporation will soon begin production of an ultralight helicoptor with a price under $50,000 and flight controls similar to a motorcycle. (Airscooter II) They claim it will be much easier to fly than current aircraft designs.

Most large employers of the middle class are located in cities, but the middle class workers they employ do not want to live in the city. Inner cities are often old and decaying, severely polluted and inhabited by the poor. The middle class, as a rule do not want to live in old buildings, breathe pollution or see poor people. The popularity of the automobile led the middle class to move to suburbs, where they could live in new houses with big yards, and limit their exposure to pollution and poor people. The heavy use of automobiles made the pollution worse and widened the gap between rich and poor. If inexpensive personal aircraft were available, and the support infrastructure was in place, suburban middle class commuters would be the major market. With the ability to travel twice as fast as the speed limit on most expressways, personal aircraft would likely increase the radius around major cities in which suburbs develop. Urban sprawl would increase and the ties of the middle class to the cities would be reduced. Property values in existing suburbs would be somewhat reduced at first. Eventually, many would become working class neighborhoods, in much the same way that inner cities became working class when the middle class moved to the suburbs.

Congestion is a severe problem in most cities. The average time a Los Angeles resident wastes in a year while sitting in traffic has more than doubled since 1982, from 19 hours to 50. (Liu) Other large cities have similar traffic problems, and there is little sign of improvement. There are incentives for carpooling and using public transportation, but the convenience of having one's own vehicle outweighs the incentives for many commuters. Replacing a significant percentage of cars with aircraft would reduce highway congestion, but might create problems of its own. Air congestion is unlikely to be a problem in most areas, as air travelers are not restricted to small portions of the air in the way that cars are restricted to the road. There are three dimensions in which to move, and a lot of open space. Congestion would likely be a problem in the central commercial districts of large urban areas. There are only a limited number of places to put landing strips in dense cities. The roofs of parking garages might be good candidates in many cases, but they are not always in places where such use would be safe. Flying an aircraft through the middle of a city in order to land on top of a parking garage is very dangerous today. Very precise flying is required to navigate between buildings, which is exacerbated by the turbulence buildings cause on windy days. There are also low-visibility obstacles such as power lines and other types of cables strung between buildings. The most common arrangement would likely be a downtown airport, with aircraft being taxied on surface streets as the final leg of the commute. Such an arrangement does have some disadvantages, as any aircraft is likely to be suboptimal for street use. Government regulation is, again a barrier, as meeting car crash safety standards adds a significant amount of weight to a vehicle - as much as 1000 pounds. (Malik) There would be significant congestion around urban airports, requiring strict air traffic control to prevent mid-air collisions. Away from major airports, the only significant risk of injury would be to the occupants of the aircraft. Much like motorcycles, the likelihood of injuring bystanders with an aircraft is low. Most airplane crashes are caused by simple pilot errors like running out of fuel. (Safety FAQ's) Shifting the risks of irresponsible behavior from the general public to those actually engaging in the behavior is good for society overall.

Aircraft users would likely see a net positive effect on their everyday lives. Flying, instead of driving would shorten commutes and reduce stress, as well as providing more opportunities for recreation. A 150 MPH aircraft would more than double… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Aviation Personal Air Vehicles" Assignment:

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CHOOSING THE MID-TERM GRIDLOCK COMMUTER AIRCRAFT (PAV) DESCRIBE HOW SOCIETY WOULD ADAPT TO THESE VEHCILES. DESCRIBE THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON EVERYDAY LIFE THAT OUR SOCIETY WOULD EXPERIENCE WITH THE WIDESPREAD USE OF PERSONAL AIR VEHICLES. INDICATE HOW YOUR PERSONAL LIFE WOULD BE DIFFERENT THAN IT IS TODAY. INCLUDE A BRIEF SECTION (NO MORE THAT 2 PAGES) TO DEMONSTRATE THAT STUDENTS HAVE DONE INTERNET RESEARCH USING CURRENT GOVERNMENT AND TRAVEL AGENCY STUDIES TO UNDERSTAND AUTO AND AIRLINE USE TO MEET TRAVEL NEEDS IN OUR CURRENT SOCIETY, EXPERT PROJECTIONS FOR TRAVEL USING AUTOS AND AIRLINES OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS; AND PROJECTED CONGESTION AND MOBILITY PROBLEMS UNLESS ALTERNATE TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS ARE INVESTIGATED.

Mid-term Gridlock Commuter Aircraft: A two-seat recreational and commuter aircraft that can take off and land, clearing 35 ft. obstacles, in less than 500 feet, can travel on side streets at 25 mph, can fly at 150 mph, costs less than $50,000, makes no more noise than a motorcycle, and has a fuel efficiency of 40 miles per gallon using automotive fuels. Currently a vehicle that approaches this capability is the auto-gyro that carries 1 to 2 people at speeds less than 80 mph, can takeoff and land from almost any small grass field, but cannot travel on side-streets for door-to-door use.

Choose one or more of the vehicles described above and describe how society would adapt to these types of vehicles. Describe the positive and negative impacts on everyday life that our society would experience with the widespread use of personal air vehicles. Indicate how your personal life would be different than it is today. Include a brief section (no more than two pages) to demonstrate that students have done Internet research using current government and travel agency studies* to understand: Auto and airline use to meet travel needs in our current society; Expert projections for travel using autos and airlines over the next 25 years; and Projected congestion and mobility problems unless alternate transportation solutions are investigated. Include a bibliography or list of references, including URLs, questionnaires, oral interviews, and any other sources other than student's opinion.* Helpful Hints: To help focus their papers, student can begin by choosing one or two of the following questions to address. These questions are offered as a starting point to help students generate ideas, they are not meant as a format for the paper. The paper is limited to 7 pages so students should limit their responses to areas that most interest them. Where in the country would PAVs likely be used first? Who would use these types of vehicles and for what purpose? How might neighborhoods change? Would people choose to live in communities such as Airparks? (For example, see http://www.longislandairpark.com/) Would shopping malls provide access to these vehicles by adding small runways? Would businesses in places like the Silicon Valley put in small runways (such as at the Cisco or Sun technology campuses) for their employees? How many people would use PAVs and how often? How does on-demand (you travel when and where you want to go), personal air travel compare to scheduled service airline travel? How would people be trained to operate these types of vehicles?/li> Where would people choose to live and work if they had these vehicles and how would this change property values? How would vehicles be repaired, maintained, and fueled and what types of new businesses would result? How would PAVs compete with other technologies, such as teleconferencing and video conferencing? How would PAVs factor into the transition from centralized to distributed technologies and subsequent markets? (For example, in the 1970's we used mainframe computers that were replaced by workstation computers in the 1980's. Technology advances eventually led to personal computers in the 1990's and to handheld, wireless computing devices in the present. Is there a role that PAVs might play in a similar transition for the transportation industry?) Instead of trying to answer all possible questions about PAVs, students should concentrate on one or two specific areas of interest to them when addressing the four required elements. Students should back up their opinions with a reliable, recognized source of information to justify their position. Students can then use their imagination to extrapolate beyond the available information. Students might consider interviewing their local populations with a questionnaire that could be used to tabulate responses. If such interviews are conducted, students should record the number of people interviewed, the location of the interview, the date, the age and gender of the interviewee and any other pertinent data. Students should consult a reliable reference on making questionnaires to ensure that theirs is unambiguous and unbiased.* Students should consult sources like the National and State Transportation Statistics to study what types of data collection and analysis are currently used to characterize American transportation.* Students might want to make a digital illustration depicting how the PAVs are used in 2030. This illustration can be hand-drawn and scanned into digital format, or it can be computer drawn and saved as a jpg file. Illustration should be no larger than 1.0 MB in size and should be based on student research for the paper. For example, the illustration could show PAVs used in fire and rescue missions, urban commuter situations, rural travel situations, law enforcement scenarios, a community plan that embraces PAV's, imagined infrastructure layouts that show the ability to avoid congestion at takeoff and landing areas, and others that students might imagine. Though many types of illustrations are possible, choose only one to include in the paper.

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