21st Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, 13-18 September, 1998
Paper ICAS-98-4.10.1

THE ECOLIFTER : A NEW CONCEPT FOR A DEDICATED ADVANCED CARGO TRANSPORT

Schmitt D., Roeder J.*
TU Munich, Germany; *Air Cargo Research Team, France

Keywords: ecolifter, dedicated advanced cargo transport

The development of the European economy requires an efficient transportation system. This does exist in Europe by a mix of motorways, railway-lines and numerous well developed airports. For passenger transportation the contenders are offering reasonable alternatives, depending on the distance to be covered. The picture changes with . respect to the transportation of goods and freight. The increasing demand (roughly 7% growth p.a.) is mainly absorbed by trucks. In consequence, an enormous amount of additional traffic is generated on roads, blocking motorways and increasing emissions and risks. This paper will start with a description of the current cargo transport system in Europe and a comparison of road, rail and air will be given with respect to energy consumption, land resources required, flexibility, time and cost of transportation. In the second part, a scenario for an innovative air cargo transport system will be developed. This will include the infrastructure necessary on the ground as well as the technical and operational requirements for a future dedicated civil cargo aircraft, capable to compete successfully with land transport and offering Significant advantages in respect of capital investment, flexibility and safety. Finally a family of aircraft dubbed "The Ecolifter", covering the 200 to 400 tonnes payload bracket with significant range potential will be presented and discussed.

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