The growth of passenger numbers in air travel implicates challenges for regions and
airports with limited air and ground capacities. Environmental concerns support
the need for fuel-efficient aircraft. Research by the Institute of Aircraft Design of the
Technische Universit¨at M¨unchen led to the development of a turboprop-powered high
capacity aircraft for operation on short and medium range routes.
The recalculation of the initial concept led to the readjustment of the ambitious re-
quirements. The limited availability of large turboprop engines is another challenge.
A turbofan-powered variant is considered feasible. Various methods for the modeling
and computation of turbofan engines are integrated into a design tool and feasibility
are carried out. Current generation turbofan engines are chosen to power the air-
craft. The aircraft is integrated into a fuel efficiency calculation tool according to the
necessary parameters and functions to carry out fuel efficiency analyses compared
with existing aircraft. Finally, the design tool is integrated into an aircraft design
development environment.
A two- and a four-engined turbofan variant of the aircraft are created, both prov-
ing feasible. The performance is superior to that of the turboprop aircraft, with the
four-engined turbofan variant showing a 4% better fuel economy. The aircraft con-
cept outperforms existing aircraft on short missions. On longer missions, announced
long-haul aircraft can match the fuel efficiency.
The work shows the feasibility of the aircraft with both turboprop and turbofan
engines. The aircraft has potential to replace current aircraft on routes with high
demand and limited airport capacities while improving fuel economy.
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