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We basically built towards a local maximum of what's physically possible for fossil-fuel powered sub-sonic aircraft; we also pushed into super-sonic, but the ef
by lambda 4y ago
We basically built towards a local maximum of what's physically possible for fossil-fuel powered sub-sonic aircraft; we also pushed into super-sonic, but the efficiency and noise pretty much preclude that for all but military and niche commercial operations.
However, there have been huge improvements in other areas, like efficiency and safety. Take a look at this fatal accident charts, and remember that aviation usage has been growing in the meantime, so rates per passenger and per passenger mile have been improving even more than this shows.
https://aviation-safety.net/graphics/infographics/Fatal-Accidents-Per-Year-1946-2019.jpg https://aviation-safety.net/graphics/infographics/Fatal-Acci...
- jefftk 4y ago> remember that aviation usage has been growing in the meantime, so rates per passenger and per passenger mile have been improving even more than this shows We can chart that directly, and I agree it's impressive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_safety#/media/File:Fatalities_per_revenue_passenger_kilometre_in_air_transport_since_1970.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_safety#/media/File:Fa...
- lambda 4y agoYep, thanks! Was looking for a chart like that but didn't find one on a quick search. And yeah, that's a huge improvement in safety. So while the general shape of airplanes, and range and speed might seem similar, the airplanes themselves and the whole ecosystem around them (pilots, maintenance, airline and airport ops, air traffic control, and so on) are far safer.