Quote:
Originally Posted by svandamme
But center of mass becomes an even bigger issue with freight.
rollrate reduces dramatically when you load up weight off the center line..
And rollrate is quite important at mittigating crosswinds at landing.
furthermore, the engine maintenance/replacement still poses a massive problem.
I doubt it makes for a viable shift in design for just 1 part of the market.
Now a plane is designed and can do both.
Seasonal change in requirements (more vacationers in summer ) well you just install seats and you have a commercial people plane.. sudden increase in package needs. put seats back in.
Same for pilots.. new pilots will probably find it easier to get their hours in on freighters , they grind their hours on freight, then move up to people flying..
Not really going to happen if they use completely different designs. it's a hindrance.
Having 2 completely different designs just kills off any hopes of flexible use.. And that's what makes a plane design successfull and economical
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The challenges may end up being too great but the rewards are high - fuel economy and reduced emissions which are driving a lot development right now, both of which blended wing show strides.
Engine placement is not insurmountable, that alone wouldn't nix the move forward. Those challenges have been met before (look at seaplanes).
In most cases aircraft are either dedicated freighters or passenger planes. A freighter doesn't make a good passenger plane (floors with rollers, no windows and enormous cargo door).
A lot of pilots aspire to UPS or FedEx as the top of the career path (flying a Boeing or Airbus). They are some of the top paying salaries and aren't susceptible to the whim of the flying public (no idiot pax to deal with either).