Research may include
- airline consolidation
- major carriers, including cargo
- deregulation of airline industry
- the effect of airline activity on airport infrastructure
- the effect of Internet and electronic commerce
- heightened competition (in aviation and space)
- small-scale aircraft
- uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) and remote-piloted vehicles
- efficiency
- environmentally friendly technologies
- training and design (modeling and simulation software)
- the transition from mechanical to automated (digital) control
- the transition from ground- to satellite-based surveillance
- automation of flying tasks
- increasing aviation accessibility to the public.
Teacher Resource:
Aviation Beyond 2040, NASA
Process/Skill Questions:
- What aviation trends should the U.S. government support, if any?
- What major shifts in the airline industry over the past 25 years are evident today?
- What trends are likely to affect government spending?
- What effect does competition have on the aviation industry?
- What are the benefits of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)?
- How do renewable resources change aircraft (aspects such as power plant, structure, control, efficiency, and safety)?
- What electric propulsion aircraft are currently produced or under production?
- Why is supersonic air transportation a challenging problem to overcome?