January 22, 2021 Journal article Open Access

Selecting figures of merit for a hybrid-electric 50-seat regional aircraft

N. Moebs; D. Eisenhut; D. Bergmann; A. Strohmayer

In the course of the aircraft design process for a hybrid-electric aircraft, a number of configuration alternatives have to be assessed. In addition, novel propulsion concepts have to be compared to a conventional reference aircraft. These comparisons are carried out by means of suitable figures of merit, adapted to a reference mission. This work will give insight into the process of identifying suitable figures of merit for a 50-seat hybrid-electric regional aircraft, which was carried out in the Horizon 2020 project FutPrInt50. Coming from a thorough perspective, a down-selection leads to a graspable number of parameters which are categorized in regard to the environment, to the airline desirability, and to the introduction of hybrid-electric aircraft. Those figures of merit, like emissions and operating costs, are gathered in an objective function which can support an overall evaluation of the aircraft design. This offers a detailed, yet transparent assessment of the various designs.