Research on a Cruiser Enabled
Air Transport Environment
RECREATE
Final project results of the work performed by the RECREATE partners
NLR, DLR, FOI, TUM, TUD, QUB, ZHAW, RKN, NRG
FANTASSY Workshop “Next Generation Aircraft Concepts”
Stephan Zajac, NLR
26 January 2015
The RECREATE project research receives funding from the European Union Seventh Framework
Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 284741.
Cruiser-Feeder concept:
an impression
Amsterdam, 26 January 2015
The RECREATE project
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Why do we seek for new solutions?
The air traffic growth challenge
One day of air traffic
Wikipedia, 2009

Predicted long term growth of world-wide air
traffic (FAA, OEMs)

Equivalent growth in emissions not
acceptable.
FAA, 2014

Technological improvements hardly matching
the traffic growth.
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Threats to today’s air transport
 Congestion of airports
and air corridors
 Routes to Asia – closed
air spaces?
Google Maps
Flightmaps24.com
Amsterdam, 26 January 2015
FAA
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Perspective for solution thanks to
Cruiser-Feeder
 RECREATE concept I offers a long-term solution:
Final concept I: cruiser-feeder with nuclear propelled cruiser
Capacity
MTOW
Range / endurance
Cruise speed
Docking speed
Cruise altitude
Payload transfer
Cruiser
1000 passengers
900000 kg
60000 nm / 1 week
M = 0.8
M = 0.7
> 36000 ft
Single container station concept (100
passengers each)
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Perspective for solution thanks to
Cruiser-Feeder
 RECREATE concept II is a short-term solution:
Capacity
Final concept II: Air-to-air refuelling
Cruiser
Feeder
250 passengers
Fuel offload capacity
35000 lb / 3 contacts
Range
2500-3000 nm
Range / endurance
500 nm / ~4 hours
MTOW
100000 kg
AAR envelope
< 24000 ft, Mach < 0.8
Specific fuel consumption
0.525
AAR procedure
20 min
(5 min wet contact)
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The project
Nine partners:
 NLR, The Netherlands
 DLR, Germany
 FOI, Sweden
 TU Munich, Germany
 TU Delft, The Netherlands
 Queen’s University Belfast, UK
 ZHAW, Zurich, Switzerland
 Nangia Research Associates, UK
 NRG, Petten, The Netherlands
Dr. R. K. Nangia
Nangia Aero Research Associates
Funded in the 7th Framework Programme of the
European Commission
Project time: August 2011 to January 2015
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How does Cruiser-Feeder Concept I
work?
 Airworthiness only at unacceptable high weight
penalties for fission-based nuclear propulsion
 Socially not acceptable.
 Discovery of new nuclear physics required
 Current research into energy sources
 E.g. condensed matter physics Wisdom-Larsson theory
 Compact Fusion Reactor proposed by Lockheed Martin
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The RECREATE project
Rings containing superconducting
magnets will confine the plasma inside
the reaction chamber. Eric
Schulzinger/Lockheed Martin 8
How does Concept II work?
 AAR in regular use by military for decennia
 However, different requirements for safety and reliability
 Unconventional configuration has essential
benefits:
 Safety
 Passenger comfort
 Thrust requirement for cruiser
 Pilot training requirements
 Critical point: stability ->Preliminary design study
on aeroelasticity.
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How do the aircraft look like?
Conceptual and preliminary design of dedicated cruiser aircraft
Reduced wing area at same fuselage volume
Reduced Operating Empty Weight
reference
Dmf = 0%
one refuel
Dmf = 20.6%
two refuels
Dmf = 24.9%
Conceptual and preliminary design of dedicated tanker aircraft
Reduced fuselage
Adapted tail configuration
Adapted boom layout
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Will they ever be airworthy?
CS25 AMC 25.1309
TUD, RECREATE
Concept I (Nuclear propulsion cruiser): preliminary System Safety
Assessment:
 With today’s technology no proof of airworthiness by verification with fullscale demonstrators can be made.
 Proof of airworthiness might be possible with advanced simulation
capabilities.
 Not acceptable for the public
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Will they ever be airworthy?
Concept II (AAR): System Safety Assessment
Events
Initiate
approach
yes
Turbulence
level < limit
No
No
yes
No flight control system,
engine, position
determination, autopilot
failures
No
Not relevant
yes
Approach path and
station keeping
position
< limits
No
End states
No boom flight control system,
boom position determination, boom
autopilot, boom extension
mechanism failures
Initiate boom
positioning
yes
yes
No
Not relevant
yes
No
Boom flight control
system, boom position
determination, boom
yes
autopilot, boom
extension mechanism
failures detected in time
Initiate
abort
No
Collision
yes
yes
No
No
Collision with boom extended
Probability must be < 10-9
(follows from simulation)
Succesful abort with boom
extended
Collision is assumed
Probability must be < 10-9
Collision is assumed
Probability must be < 10-9
Only automated!
Simulations for System Safety Model showed compliance up
to medium turbulence and one engine out failure
No safety-showstoppers
Full evaluation of CS-25, MIL-HDBK 516B and JSSG-2009
EASA All Weather Operations (CS-AWO) and Acceptable
Means of Compliance (AMC)
USAF
Roadmap
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How can air-to-air refuelling be
automated?
Pro-Approach (Initiation) Zone
Receiver
Tanker
Approach
RF
RF Radio
Contact Zone
Astern Hold Zone
Astern Hold
Transponder
Active
Camera
Markers
Rendezvous
EKF
GPS
GPS Receiver
Receiver
Pre-Approach
IMU
Departure
IMU
Data Link

Development of flight control systems for cruiser, feeder and refuelling
boom, including:



Sensors, data fusion, simulated actuators, controllers
Tested using flight simulation, including external influences: turbulence,
and failure conditions
Developed systems perform AAR manoeuvres well up to medium
turbulence.
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How does the traffic change?
 DLR TrafficSim
 ~2800 flights in 48 hrs per
scenario
 opimize cruiser routes for fuel
consumption
 feeder routes and schedules
 network interruptions
 resulting delays and alternate
landings
 More point-to-point, less hub
and spoke
Transatlantic Scenario
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The RECREATE project
Europe-China Scenario
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Can it be profitable?
 QUB, Star Alliance flights analyzed
P2P with and
without AAR
H&S with and
without AAR
P2P with and
without AAR
H&S with and
without AAR
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Operating Cost
Fuel Burn
 Approximately 9% fuel and 14% operating cost savings compared to
baseline of current operations.
 However, Available Seat Miles (ASM) go up on some routes without proportional cost or fuel increase.
 So the CEOs are with us, what do the pilots think?
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What do the pilots think?
Pilot reaction
Relative Position Indicators
Safety margin estimator
 2 phases of flight simulator experiments
 4/16 crews of commercial airline pilots,
partially with military AAR experience.
 GRACE (ASD) and GECO (BS) in real time
coupled experiments
 Almost all pilots felt it to be safely
implementable, with little extra training
Amsterdam, 26 January 2015
Human Machine Interface next to Primary Flight Display
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Is there relief for the climate?
TUD analysis through aircraft design
 Fuel: substantial fuel and consequently CO2 reduction
 Noise: Lower high-intensity noise (impact on costs), average noise levels
about the same.
 Particle matter: Less emission at cruiser airport, overall impact very
difficult to assess
 Non-CO2 emission, contrails: Reduction per flight, however more flights
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Are we sure on these figures?
 optimistic: Top down, statistic analysis
 pessimistic: Bottom-up, aircraft design driven analysis
 still impressive compared to any technological improvement
Amsterdam, 26 January 2015
Cruiser only
21%
Efficient tanker
-5%
Realistic tanker
-12%
Bottom-up analysis:
9% - 16%
Top down analysis:
23%
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What is the significance in the
aerospace business?
 More point-to-point – ‘AAR Tomorrow’
 Newly designed aircraft required
 AAR is enabler for more advanced cruiser-feeder concepts
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Intercontinental
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Where do we stand now?
 Feasibility study of RECREATE has been a great success:
 No technical show-stoppers
 More certainty on airworthiness and certification
 More certainty on the benefits
 More certainty on the required aircraft
 Organisation of air traffic
 Boom configuration
 Automatisation
 Human factors
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How do we get it implemented?
 Tell the story:
Press:
Amsterdam, 26 January 2015
Aviation community:
 Workshop Bristol 2014
 25 papers and counting:
New media:
 www.cruiser-feeder.eu
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How do we get it implemented?
 Business cases for air transport organisations,
aircraft fuel providers and other stakeholders
 Adapt international law: ICAO member states
 Adapt rulemaking: EASA, FAA, ATC
 Demonstration of key technologies
 Demonstration of operation for a single route
 Initial investment by governments, EU, China
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Civil AAR:
an impression
Amsterdam, 26 January 2015
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Research on a Cruiser Enabled Air Transport
Environment (RECREATE)
Thank you for your attention.
The RECREATE project research receives funding from the European Union Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 284741. This
publication reflects only the authors' views. The European Union is not liable for any
use that may be made of the information contained therein.