This proposal is all about the introduction and airworthiness of cruiser-feeder operations for civil aircraft. Cruiser-feeder operations are investigated as a promising pioneering idea for the air transport of the future.
The soundness of the concept of cruiser-feeder operations for civil aircraft is explained in the proposal, taking air-to-air refuelling operations as an example. A comprehensive estimate is given, which shows a fuel burn reduction potential and a CO2 emission reduction of 31% for a typical 6000 nautical miles flight with a payload of 250 passengers. This reduction potential is known to be large by any standard.The top level objective of the proposal is to demonstrate on a preliminary design level that cruiser-feeder operations (as a concept to reduce fuel burn and CO2 emission levels) can be shown to comply with the airworthiness requirements for civil aircraft. The subsequent Scientific and Technological (S&T) objectives are presented in the proposal. In the project, airworthy operational concepts for cruiser-feeder operations are determined and studied. The benefits in terms of CO2 emission reduction are derived and quantified. This is conducted in three integrating work packages, which are underpinned by research conducted in three disciplinary work packages. A conceptual and preliminary design study of aircraft required will be made, as well as automatic flight control concepts necessary to reduce the workload of the pilots and concepts to transfer passengers, supllies and waste. Finally, flight simulations
will be conducted to investigate the cruiser-feeder operations concept. Impact of the RECREATE project will be generated by disseminating the results to the general public, to advisory groups and policy makers and to the aeronautical sciences community.