Vol 66, No. 7 - International Technology and Engineering Educators ...

about taking on this challenge? How do you envision solving
this very real, very practical problem?
What a great segue for learning about airplanes, airports,
aeronautical engineering, and the science of moving people
efficiently and safely through time and space.
and people? Is there anything similar to this concept, say,
from the railroads, trucking, and freight hauling industries
that might be borrowed or adapted? Can the loading
of passengers be modularized? What might happen if a
passenger and his/her seat are already a distinct module
before they even get on the plane? Could the seat and
person sitting in it simply move to the proper location on
the plane…automatically? Maybe your carry-on
baggage is stored under the seat you are sitting in, and no
overhead storage is allowed at all. Can you visualize what
this change in perspective might do to airliner design and
loading efficiency?
Harry T. Roman recently retired from his
engineering job and is the author of a variety
of new technology education books. He can
be reached via email at htroman49@aol.
com.
Think about this: A train is nothing more than a collection
of cars that are connected together for a specific purpose
and for a certain length of time. The train is assembled
in a modular and somewhat automated fashion, and
disassembled the same way. Can this concept be adapted to
the airline industry?
What might happen to the layout of airports if such
sweeping changes were made to airplane design? How
do you think this might affect the way that aeronautical
engineers design airplanes? What would you be concerned
about if the plane came in separate sections that could be
preassembled and then loaded or slid into place just
before takeoff?
This is a multi-dimensional problem challenge that
everyone in the class can identify with, and should be able
to reasonably consider. It is certainly a challenge that would
lend itself to a team-based approach.
Maybe the solution set here is to first improve the existing
process and then redesign the modern jet airliner. I wonder
what airline companies have on the drawing board. Airliners
originally only had one level, and now the super jumbo
variety have multiple levels. They once only had a single
aisle; and now they have multiple aisles on wide-body
models. Reality often starts with dreams that are eventually
made technically, economically, environmentally, and
socially acceptable. So what do you and your students think
• The Technology Teacher • april 2007