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Sustainable Aviation Technology and Operations
Aerospace Series

David Allerton ⋅ Principles of Flight Simulation


Allan Seabridge, Mohammad Radaei ⋅ Aircraft Systems Classifications: A Handbook of Characteristics and
Design Guidelines
Douglas M. Marshall ⋅ UAS Integration into Civil Airspace: Policy, Regulations and Strategy
Paul G. Fahlstrom, Thomas J. Gleason, Mohammad H. Sadraey ⋅ Introduction to UAV Systems, 5th Edition
James W. Gregory, Tianshu Liu ⋅ Introduction to Flight Testing
Ashish Tewari ⋅ Foundations of Space Dynamics
Egbert Torenbeek ⋅ Essentials of Supersonic Commercial Aircraft Conceptual Design
Mohammad H. Sadraey ⋅ Design of Unmanned Aerial Systems
Saeed Farokhi ⋅ Future Propulsion Systems and Energy Sources in Sustainable Aviation
Rama K. Yedavalli ⋅ Flight Dynamics and Control of Aero and Space Vehicles
Allan Seabridge, Ian Moir ⋅ Design and Development of Aircraft Systems, 3rd Edition
Gareth D. Padfield ⋅ Helicopter Flight Dynamics: Including a Treatment of Tiltrotor Aircraft, 3rd Edition
Craig A. Kluever ⋅ Space Flight Dynamics, 2nd Edition
Trevor M. Young ⋅ Performance of the Jet Transport Airplane: Analysis Methods, Flight Operations, and
Regulations
Andrew J. Keane, Andros Sobester, James P. Scanlan ⋅ Small Unmanned Fixed-wing Aircraft Design:
A Practical Approach
Pascual Marques, Andrea Da Ronch ⋅ Advanced UAV Aerodynamics, Flight Stability and Control:
Novel Concepts, Theory and Applications
Farhan A. Faruqi ⋅ Differential Game Theory with Applications to Missiles and Autonomous Systems
Guidance
Grigorios Dimitriadis ⋅ Introduction to Nonlinear Aeroelasticity
Nancy J. Cooke, Leah J. Rowe, Winston Bennett Jr., DeForest Q. Joralmon ⋅ Remotely Piloted Aircraft
Systems: A Human Systems Integration Perspective
Stephen Corda ⋅ Introduction to Aerospace Engineering with a Flight Test Perspective
Wayne Durham, Kenneth A. Bordignon, Roger Beck ⋅ Aircraft Control Allocation
Ashish Tewari ⋅ Adaptive Aeroservoelastic Control
Ajoy Kumar Kundu, Mark A. Price, David Riordan ⋅ Theory and Practice of Aircraft Performance
Peter Belobaba, Amedeo Odoni, Cynthia Barnhart, Christos Kassapoglou ⋅ The Global Airline Industry,
2nd Edition
Jan R. Wright, Jonathan Edward Cooper ⋅ Introduction to Aircraft Aeroelasticity and Loads, 2nd Edition
Tapan K. Sengupta ⋅ Theoretical and Computational Aerodynamics
Andros Sobester, Alexander I.J. Forrester ⋅ Aircraft Aerodynamic Design: Geometry and Optimization
Roy Langton ⋅ Stability and Control of Aircraft Systems: Introduction to Classical Feedback Control
T. W. Lee ⋅ Aerospace Propulsion
Ian Moir, Allan Seabridge, Malcolm Jukes ⋅ Civil Avionics Systems, 2nd Edition
Wayne Durham ⋅ Aircraft Flight Dynamics and Control
Konstantinos Zografos, Giovanni Andreatta, Amedeo Odoni ⋅ Modelling and Managing Airport Performance
Egbert Torenbeek ⋅ Advanced Aircraft Design: Conceptual Design, Analysis and Optimization of Subsonic
Civil Airplanes
Christos Kassapoglou ⋅ Design and Analysis of Composite Structures: With Applications to Aerospace
Structures, 2nd Edition
Keith A. Rigby ⋅ Aircraft Systems Integration of Air-Launched Weapons
Doug McLean ⋅ Understanding Aerodynamics: Arguing from the Real Physics
Mohammad H. Sadraey ⋅ Aircraft Design: A Systems Engineering Approach
G.D. McBain ⋅ Theory of Lift: Introductory Computational Aerodynamics in MATLAB/Octave
Plamen Angelov ⋅ Sense and Avoid in UAS: Research and Applications
John Valasek ⋅ Morphing Aerospace Vehicles and Structures
Peter Fortescue, Graham Swinerd, John Stark ⋅ Spacecraft Systems Engineering, 4th Edition
Reg Austin ⋅ Unmanned Aircraft Systems: UAVS Design, Development and Deployment
Roberto Sabatini, Alessandro Gardi ⋅ Sustainable Aviation Technology and Operations: Research and
Innovation Perspectives

Visit www.wiley.com to view more titles in the Aerospace Series.


Sustainable Aviation Technology and Operations

Research and Innovation Perspectives

Edited by

Roberto Sabatini
Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering
College of Engineering
Khalifa University of Science and Technology
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Honorary Professor, Aerospace Engineering and Aviation


School of Engineering, STEM College
RMIT University, Melbourne
Victoria, Australia

Alessandro Gardi
Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering
College of Engineering
Khalifa University of Science and Technology
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Associate of RMIT University


Aerospace Engineering and Aviation, School of Engineering
STEM College, Melbourne
Victoria, Australia
This edition first published 2024
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The right of Roberto Sabatini and Alessandro Gardi to be identified as the editors of this work has been
asserted in accordance with law.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sabatini, Roberto, editor. | Gardi, Alessandro, editor.
Title: Sustainable aviation technology and operations : research and
innovation perspectives / Roberto Sabatini, Professor, Department of Aerospace
Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi,
UAE; Alessandro Gardi, Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace
Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Description: Hoboken, NJ, USA : Wiley, 2024. | Series: Aerospace series
Identifiers: LCCN 2020025457 (print) | LCCN 2020025458 (ebook) | ISBN
9781118932582 (cloth) | ISBN 9781118932612 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781118932605 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Aeronautics–Technological innovations. | Aerospace
engineering. | Sustainable development.
Classification: LCC TL553 .S23 2024 (print) | LCC TL553 (ebook) | DDC
629.13028/6–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025457
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025458
Cover image: © ICHIRO/Getty Images
Cover design by Wiley
Set in 9.5/12.5pt STIXTwoText by Straive, Chennai, India
v

Contents

List of Contributors vii


About the Editors ix
About the Companion Website x

1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction 1


Roberto Sabatini and Alessandro Gardi

Section I Aviation Sustainability Fundamentals 29


2 Climate Impacts of Aviation 31
Yixiang Lim, Alessandro Gardi, and Roberto Sabatini
3 Noise Pollution and Other Environmental and Health Impacts of
Aviation 49
Alessandro Gardi, Rohan Kapoor, Yixiang Lim, and Roberto Sabatini

Section II Systems for Sustainable Aviation 79


4 Systems Engineering Evolutions 81
Anthony Zanetti, Arun Kumar, Alessandro Gardi, and Roberto Sabatini
5 Life Cycle Assessment for Carbon Neutrality 113
Enda Crossin, Alessandro Gardi, and Roberto Sabatini
6 Air Traffic Management and Avionics Systems Evolutions 145
Alessandro Gardi, Yixiang Lim, Nichakorn Pongsakornsathien, Roberto Sabatini,
and Trevor Kistan
7 Optimisation of Flight Trajectories and Airspace 165
Alessandro Gardi, Yixiang Lim, and Roberto Sabatini

Section III Aerostructures and Propulsive Technologies 213


8 Advanced Aerodynamic Configurations 215
Matthew Marino, Alessandro Gardi, Roberto Sabatini, and Yixiang Lim
9 Lightweight Structures and Advanced Materials 241
Raj Das and Joel Galos
10 Low-Emission Propulsive Technologies in Transport Aircraft 263
Kavindu Ranasinghe, Kai Guan, Alessandro Gardi, and Roberto Sabatini
vi Contents

11 Approved Drop-in Biofuels and Prospects for Alternative Aviation


Fuels 301
Graham Dorrington

Section IV Research Case Studies 323

12 Overall Contribution of Wingtip Devices to Improving Aircraft


Performance 325
Nikola Gavrilovi´c, Boško Rašuo, Vladimir Parezanovi´c, George Dulikravich, and
Jean-Marc Moschetta

13 Integration of Naturally Occurring Materials in Lightweight


Aerostructures 343
Jose Silva, Alessandro Gardi, and Roberto Sabatini

14 Distributed and Hybrid Propulsion: A Tailored Design


Methodology 355
Martin Burston, Kavindu Ranasinghe, Alessandro Gardi, Vladimir Parezanovic,
Rafic Ajaj, and Roberto Sabatini

15 Integration of Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Systems in Small


Unmanned Aircraft 393
Jacob Sliwinski, Alessandro Gardi, Matthew Marino, and Roberto Sabatini

16 Benefits and Challenges of Liquid Hydrogen Fuels for Commercial


Transport Aircraft 417
Stephen Rondinelli, Alessandro Gardi, and Roberto Sabatini

17 Multi-Objective Trajectory Optimisation Algorithms for Avionics and


ATM Systems 433
Alessandro Gardi, Roberto Sabatini, and Trevor Kistan

18 Energy-Optimal 4D Guidance and Control for Terminal Descent


Operations 457
Yixiang Lim, Alessandro Gardi, and Roberto Sabatini

19 Contrail Modelling for 4D Trajectory Optimisation 475


Yixiang Lim, Alessandro Gardi, and Roberto Sabatini

20 Trajectory Optimisation to Minimise the Combined Radiative Forcing


Impacts of Contrails and CO2 499
Yixiang Lim, Alessandro Gardi, Roberto Sabatini, and Trevor Kistan

21 The W Life Cycle Model – San Francisco Airport Case Study 509
Anthony Zanetti, Alessandro Gardi, and Roberto Sabatini

22 Conclusions and Future Research 517


Roberto Sabatini and Alessandro Gardi

Index 523
vii

List of Contributors

Rafic Ajaj Joel Galos


Department of Aerospace Engineering Department of Materials Engineering
Khalifa University of Science and California Polytechnic State University
Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE San Luis Obispo, CA, USA

Martin Burston Alessandro Gardi


School of Engineering, RMIT University Department of Aerospace Engineering
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Khalifa University of Science and
Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Enda Crossin
University of Canterbury Nikola Gavrilovi´c
Christchurch, New Zealand ISAE-SUPAERO
University of Toulouse
Raj Das Toulouse, France
School of Engineering
RMIT University Kai Guan
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia RMIT University
Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Graham Dorrington
School of Engineering Rohan Kapoor
RMIT University School of Engineering
Bundoora, Victoria, Australia RMIT University
Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
George Dulikravich
Florida International University
Miami, Florida, USA
viii List of Contributors

Trevor Kistan Kavindu Ranasinghe


Thales Australia Insitec Pty Ltd
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Arun Kumar Boško Rašuo


School of Engineering Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
RMIT University University of Belgrade
Bundoora, Victoria, Australia Belgrade, Serbia

Yixiang Lim Stephen Rondinelli


Agency for Science, Technology and RMIT University
Research (ASTAR) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Singapore
Roberto Sabatini
Matthew Marino Department of Aerospace Engineering
School of Engineering Khalifa University of Science and
RMIT University Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Jose Silva
Jean-Marc Moschetta School of Engineering
Jean-Marc Moschetta Aerodynamics RMIT University
Energetics and Propulsion Department Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
ISAE-SUPAERO Toulouse, France
Jacob Sliwinski
Vladimir Parezanovi´c RMIT University
Department of Aerospace Engineering Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Khalifa University of Science and
Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE Anthony Zanetti
RMIT University
Nichakorn Pongsakornsathien Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
School of Engineering
RMIT University
Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
ix

About the Editors

Roberto Sabatini is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Khalifa University of Science


and Technology (UAE) and an Honorary Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Aviation
at RMIT University (Australia). Previously, Prof. Sabatini was also affiliated with Cranfield
University (UK), where he led the research team contributing to the European Union
Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative for Aeronautics and Air Transport – Systems for
Green Operations Integrated Technology Demonstrator. Prof. Sabatini holds various
academic qualifications in aerospace and geospatial engineering, including a PhD from
Cranfield University and a PhD from the University of Nottingham. Additionally, he
holds the licenses of private pilot, flight test engineer and remote pilot. Throughout his
career, Prof. Sabatini led numerous research projects funded by national governments,
international organizations and aerospace/defence industry partners. He has authored,
co-authored, or edited several books, and has had more than 300 articles published in
refereed international journals and conference proceedings. Since 2019, he has been listed
by the Stanford University’s ranking among the top 2% most cited scientists globally in
the field of aerospace and aeronautics. Prof. Sabatini is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical
Society (RAeS), the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN), the Institution of Engineers
Australia (IEAust), and the International Engineering and Technology Institute (IETI),
as well as a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
(AIAA) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He was conferred
prestigious national and international awards, including: Best-in-field National Scientist
in Aviation and Aerospace Engineering – The Australian Annual Research Report (2021);
Distinguished Leadership Award – Aviation/Aerospace Australia (2021); Scientist of the
Year – Australian Defence Industry Awards (2019); Science Award – Sustainable Aviation
Research Society (2016); and Arch T. Colwell Merit Award – Society of Automotive
Engineering (2015). Since 2017, Prof. Sabatini has represented the Australian Government
in several occasions at the ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection
(CAEP) Impact and Science Group (ISG). More recently, he has also contributed to the
activities of the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking in Unmanned Systems (JARUS), the
ICAO Drone Enable initiative, the FAA NextGen Tech Talk program, and the NASA UAS
Traffic Management (UTM) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) working groups. Currently,
he serves as Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Aerospace & Electronic Systems Society
(AESS), Chair of the AESS Avionics Systems Panel (ASP) and member-at-large of the
AESS Board of Governors. Additionally, he is a founding Editor of the IEEE Press Series
x About the Editors

on Aeronautics and Astronautics Systems, Editor for Progress in Aerospace Sciences,


and Associate Editor for Aerospace Science and Technology, Robotica, the Journal of
Navigation, and the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems.

Alessandro Gardi is an Assistant Professor in Aerospace Engineering at Khalifa


University of Science and Technology (UAE), with more than ten years of experience
in aerospace systems research and education. He received his BSc and MSc degrees in
Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and a PhD in the same field
from RMIT University (Australia). His work focusses on avionics, air traffic management,
and sustainable aviation technology for conventional and autonomous aerospace vehicles.
In this domain, he specializes in multidisciplinary and multi-objective optimization with
emphasis on optimal control methods and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques for air
and space vehicle design and operations. Before joining Khalifa University, Dr Gardi was
affiliated with Cranfield University (UK) as a member of the Systems for Green Operations
Integrated Technology Demonstrator (SGO-ITD) of the European Union Clean Sky Joint
Technology Initiative for Aeronautics and Air Transport, one of the largest programs
addressing aviation sustainability globally. Successively, he was awarded a multi-year
Thales research fellowship in Australia, during which he continued and extended his
research work on sustainable and digital aviation technologies. More recently, Dr Gardi
has worked on advancing systems and software engineering methodologies for the design
of aerospace and defence human-machine systems, utilizing neurophysiological and
system integrity monitoring, Internet of Things (IoT) technology and cyber-resilience
functionalities to operate autonomously for extended periods of time even in degraded
conditions. These contributions also resulted in him being conferred the 2020 Early
Career Award by the IEEE Aerospace Electronics Systems Society (AESS), as well as in his
appointment as member of the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking in Unmanned Systems
(JARUS) Automation Working Group and of the AESS Avionics Systems Panel (ASP). To
date, Dr. Gardi has been a senior investigator in more than ten research projects funded by
industry and government partners, and has produced more than 150 refereed publications.
In addition to his primary affiliation at Khalifa University, Dr. Gardi is an Associate of
RMIT University and serves as editor and reviewer for several high-impact journals.

About the Companion Website


This book is accompanied by the following website:

www.wiley.com/go/sustainableaviation

This website includes color version of selected figures.


1

Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction


Roberto Sabatini and Alessandro Gardi
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The aviation industry plays an important role in the global economy. Before the recent crisis
caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, air transport alone con-
tributed US$2.7 trillion to the world GDP (3.6%) and supported 65.5 million jobs globally [1].
For several decades, the sector has been on an almost uninterrupted exponential growth tra-
jectory, which demonstrated a remarkable resilience to economic and geo-political crises.
According to forecasts predating the COVID-19 pandemic, air traffic was expected to double
approximately every 25 years [2]. It was also expected that without intervention, aviation
would contribute about 6-10% of all human-induced climate change by 2050 [3], while half
of all air traffic would take off, land, or transit through the Asia-Pacific region. In the period
2019–2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reduction in global passenger traffic in
the order of 60% (2,703 million passengers) and the airlines experienced a loss of approxi-
mately US$372 billion of gross passenger operating revenues [4, 5]. The situation gradually
improved in 2021 and 2022, with a recovery of about 11% and 31% in the number of pas-
sengers, reflected by revenue losses of about US$324 billion in 2021 and US$175 in 2022
(compared to 2019).
While sending this book to the press, COVID-19 travel restrictions have been removed
in most regions and the latest reports of the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) show that both domestic and international air travel are resuming pre-pandemic
levels [5–7]. Factors that could contribute to accelerate further the aviation market recov-
ery and growth include: (1) an increasing demand for commercial Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) services; (2) technological advances in
eco-friendly design solutions (i.e., aerospace vehicles, propulsion, digital flight systems
and ground-based infrastructure); (3) uptake of sustainable aviation technologies and
associated evolutions of legal frameworks, design/certification standards and operational
procedures. In the longer term, the expansion of commercial aviation operations above
Flight Level 6-0-0 (FL 600) and the introduction of point-to-point space transport could
also contribute to a further evolution and expansion of the aviation sector [8, 9]. Factors
that could hinder the growth of the aviation sector include airlines’ bankruptcy, order
cancellations, increased cyber threats, insufficient investment in aviation infrastructure,

Sustainable Aviation Technology and Operations: Research and Innovation Perspectives, First Edition.
Edited by Roberto Sabatini and Alessandro Gardi.
© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2024 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Companion Website: www.wiley.com/go/sustainableaviation
2 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

increasing geopolitical tensions, escalation of conflicts, and global recession, many of


which are being observed in the post pandemic era.
Over the years, the concomitance of several economic, technological and environmental
factors has put the sector under intense and growing pressure. Key factors include the
rising costs of operations and fuels; a spiking global competition in relation to the rapid
liberalisation of the market and the proliferation of alternative forms of high-speed trans-
port; increased air traffic; capacity bottlenecks at major airports; the need to reduce the
environmental impact and achieve greater sustainability in airport and aircraft operations;
as well as new regulations and processes to cater for new generation aircraft that are
technologically more complex and have new maintenance requirements.
To ensure the aviation sector continues to play a vital role in supporting economic devel-
opment and employment worldwide, the future air transportation system needs to become
even more customer-orientated, time and cost-efficient, secure, and environmentally sus-
tainable than it is today. One of the main priorities for the sector is the rapid uptake of digital
technology and, in particular, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) that can support the introduc-
tion of higher levels of automation, increased airspace capacity, and significant advances
in environmental sustainability of both passenger and cargo air transport operations. From
the environmental sustainability perspective, over the past two decades, various countries
have set unprecedented performance targets for future air transport, such as greenhouse gas
emissions having to halve by 2020 (relative to 2000) and be completely offset by 2050 [10].
Adding to these demands are the rising fuel costs, which have increased fourfold in the past
20 years, impeding the profitability of both large airlines and smaller aviation companies.

1.1 Sustainability Fundamentals


Integrating Environmental Susitainability (ES) into business models and associated
business functions is an open challenge faced by many industry sectors, including
aviation. There is no universally accepted definition for ES while a thematic search of
the existing literature1 shows a prevailing emphasis on the responsible interaction with
the environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources and allow for
long-term environmental quality both locally and globally. Until recently, businesses have
not been held accountable for the cost of damages made to the environment and society.
One possible approach is to quantify the environmental degradation caused by a sector
and the required measures for restoring the pre-existing conditions. The damages and
restoration costs include various sector-specific contributing factors. However, in most
cases, such costs are associated air/land/sea pollution and noise. As proposed by [11],
the following equation could be used to quantify the cost of environmental degradations
caused by economic development activities:
EDT = N × GN × EDG (1.1)
where EDT is the total environmental degradation (in dollars), N is the population (total
number of people), GN is the Gross National Product (GNP) per capita (in dollars) and EDG
is the environmental degradation per unit of GNP.

1 Thematic search on “Environmental Sustainability”. Source: Science Direct (https://www.sciencedirect


.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/environmental-sustainability).
1.1 Sustainability Fundamentals 3

So, according to Eq. (1.1), an increase in population would require a proportional reduc-
tion of the environmental degradation per unit of GNP in order to maintain the overall
environmental degradation at the same level. Similarly, a growth of the GNP per capita
would require a commensurate reduction of the environmental degradation per unit of
GNP. However, in practice, this equation finds a limited applicability as it does not cap-
ture the need for a balance between environmental impacts and the social benefits to be
obtained by economic development [12]. Efforts to address these limitations of early quan-
titative approaches have placed emphasis on the concept of Sustainable Development (SD).
The United Nation (UN) 1987 Bruntland Report2 [13] describes SD as: “Development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.”
The concepts of sustainability and SD have been subjects for extensive research and politi-
cal debate form many years. What is sustainable can be illustrated using the so-called Triple
Bottom Line (TBL) or the “Three Spheres of Sustainability” concept originally introduced
by [14]. A modern reinterpretation of this concept is shown in Figure 1.1.
One of the advantages of the TBL approach is that it recognises the importance of
delivering sustainable economic value to shareholders by focusing on the bottom line
profit that is generated. It also considers that if an enterprise is to be sustainable, it also
needs to evaluate its performance in terms of the corresponding environmental and social
bottom lines [15]. Several variants of the TBL model have been proposed but essentially
this remains a valid high-level reference still utilised in current research work addressing
the development of SBM in the corporate environment. The concepts of corporate social

Environment
• Natural resources use
• Pollution prevention
Socio‐Environmental Measures Enviro‐Economic Measures
• Recycling processes
• Environmental policy • Energy efficient design/operations
• Waste management
• Environmental laws/regulations • Incentives for renewable energy
• Noise reduction
• Natural resources stewardship • New professions/job creation
• Social awareness and action • R&D investment

BEARABLE VIABLE

Society
• Health
• Wellbeing SUSTAINABLE
Economy
• Security • Profit
• Safety • Savings
• Education EQUITABLE • Growth
• Community • Innovation
• Inclusion

Socio‐Economic Measures
• Business ethics and integrity
• Fair trade arrangements
• Communication/marketing strategy
• Workforce rights

Figure 1.1 The three spheres of sustainability. Inspired by [14].

2 In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), published a report entitled
“Our common future”. The document came to be known as the “Brundtland Report” after the
Commission’s chairwoman, Gro Harlem Brundtland. It developed guiding principles for sustainable
development and it is still adopted today as a key reference in the sector.
4 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

responsibility and environmental accountability have been widely discussed in the liter-
ature [16, 17]. The main function of the TBL approach is to make corporations aware of
the environmental and social values they add or destroy in the world, in addition to the
economic value they add [18–20].
Over the years, TBL has become a dominant approach in terms of corporate reporting
[21, 22] and companies adopting TBL reporting have introduced significant changes to
the way they do, or at least think about, business [23]. The three major criticisms of the
TBL approach are in its measurement approach, its lack of integration across the three
dimensions and its main function as a compliance mechanism rather than a basis for the
development of SBM [24]. To tackle these limitations and the growing need for more spe-
cific approaches applicable to different industry sectors, researchers have proposed vari-
ous approaches to SBM (or business models for sustainability). However, early attempts
to develop and introduce SBM design methodologies where hindered by a strong focus on
compliance (with existing laws and regulations) and responsible management (i.e., achiev-
ing some kind of perceived or measurable optimal balance in the socio-economical dimen-
sion). Almost invariably these early researchers concluded that more detailed investigations
were needed to assess whether SBM could help developing integrative and competitive
solutions by reducing negative and/or creating positive external effects for the natural envi-
ronment and society [25–28].
These approaches limited the impact of this body of research and largely overlooked
the huge transformative potential of SBM that introduce new mechanisms for commercial
value creation and value capture both internally and externally to a particular enterprise.
Recent research has addressed these limitations and developed more holistic approaches
to SBM development. Geissdoerfer et al. (2016) defines a SBM as: “A simplified representa-
tion of the elements, the interrelationship between these elements, and the interactions with its
stakeholders that an organisational unit uses to create, deliver, capture, and exchange sustain-
able value.” The main idea pursued here is to radically modify the conventional approach
to business modelling by embedding sustainability into the value chains of an organisation
[29]. It is now a common view that the transition towards SBM requires the practitioners to
look beyond the specific boundaries of an organisation, and it requires innovation activities
to create sustainable values for the stakeholders [30].
Sustainable Development (SD) in aviation is typically mapped to the following funda-
mental concepts [31, 32]:
● The consumption of natural resources is managed at a rate which allows future genera-
tions to meet their needs as well as we do – i.e., usage rates of renewable (e.g., biofuels)
should not exceed the rates of their regeneration, and the usage rates of non-renewable
resources (e.g., petroleum fuel) should not exceed the development rate of their substi-
tutes (e.g., biofuels).
● The growth of aviation supports a liveable environment for future generations – i.e.,
the rates of polluting emissions should not exceed the assimilative capacity of the envi-
ronment and the aircraft noise exposure (perceived noise levels by the population and
frequency of noise disturbance or awakening events) should not lead to a degraded health
and quality of life.
As illustrated in Figure 1.2, the three fundamental components in sustainable aviation
are the aircraft, the airport and the Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems.
1.1 Sustainability Fundamentals 5

Figure 1.2 The three pillars of sustainable aviation research and innovation.

Designing/upgrading the aircraft to be more aerodynamically and operationally efficient


entails advances in the following areas:
● Propulsion and power: targeting improvements in fuel efficiency, a transition to more
sustainable energy management technologies, with associated reductions in gaseous and
noise emissions.
● Aerodynamics: targeting drag reduction and consequential improvement of aerody-
namic efficiency in various flight conditions, as well as reductions in airframe noise and
wake turbulence.
● Navigation and guidance: leading to optimised flight paths for reductions in gaseous
and noise emissions.
● Computing, information and communication: leading to more efficient manage-
ment of on-board systems as well as more collaborative and higher levels of decision
making, supporting more effective flight planning and operations.
● Structural mechanics and materials: targeting weight reduction across the aircraft,
as well as lower impacts from the disposal processes.
ATM plays an important role is developing systems and procedures to support efficient
use of airspace and networking between the various stakeholders. These solutions enhance
the efficiency and effectiveness of flight operations by increasing the level of automation,
improving the decision-making process and targeting the introduction of safety/security
measures. The most promising technologies include [33]:
● Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems enabling 4-
Dimensional Trajectory (4DT) based operations.
● ATM systems supporting 4DT Planning, Negotiation and Validation (4-PNV) with
the Next Generation of Flight Management Systems (NG-FMS) on-board aircraft.
6 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

Airports also play a fundamental role in the SD of aviation. Designing/upgrading the air-
port infrastructure and operations to be more environmentally friendly, entails the adoption
of various measures, such as: digital technology and multimodal transformation; opera-
tional procedures and restrictions [34]; land planning and management; financial mea-
sures (e.g., noise and atmospheric pollution charges); measuring and collecting data (on
noise and pollutants); preventing/containing fuel and de-icing spillages; and managing the
impact on wildlife [35].
Despite the existence of multiple interrelated socio-technical factors, the air transport
literature discusses the topic of sustainability adopting a relatively narrow perspective
and heavily focussing on reducing compliance costs or better utilising the existing air-
line/airport infrastructure to increase efficiency/quality of service and revenues. Other
important sustainability factors (a tailored uptake of key aircraft/ATM technologies,
airport “greening” and multimodal transformation, proper disposal/recycling of aircraft
parts and consumables, etc.) have typically received less attention in the aviation political
debate, despite the significant body of research published in the scientific and technical
literature [12, 31, 33, 34, 36]. As a result of this, the regulatory initiatives led by ICAO
and other national/international aviation authorities have been relatively limited in these
sectors. Different models are used to describe the processes occurring in the atmosphere.
Uncertainties in predictions can be attributed to [37]:
● The processes being modelled (missing or incorrect processes). Since our understanding
of the atmospheric physics improves over time, these uncertainties can also reduce.
● Different factors influencing climate change. Uncertainties in aviation developments also
make it difficult to predict the impact of aviation on climate beyond 5 to 10 years.
Factors considered in previous research include:
● Cost of air travel (and hence number of aircraft in operations);
● Economic activity and new market opportunities;
● Air transport liberalization and subsides;
● Improvements in aircraft fuel efficiency;
● Improvements in engine efficiency.
To reduce the impact of aviation on the environment, it is clearly necessary, first and
foremost, to reduce the aircraft emissions. Newer aircraft have improved fuel efficiency,
leading to reduced emissions. However, due to the growth of air traffic volume (expected to
double every 20 years), these improvements are not sufficient to balance the environmental
impact of aviation.

1.2 International Policy Framework

The establishment of an international policy framework within the UN allows technologi-


cal improvements and operational changes to be implemented through policy documents,
technical/operational standards, recommendations and economic measures, which are
typically translated into legislation/regulations by national governments. This provides an
opportunity for policy makers, scientists and industry to communicate and better assess
the costs and benefits of implementing different measures. Additionally, the existence of
1.2 International Policy Framework 7

an international framework provides assurance to producers and consumers that adopt


new technologies and operational measures, allowing for a coordinated use of policy
instruments to reduce environmental impacts and to increase the cost-effectiveness of the
various mitigation/adaptation measures. The current policy framework includes:
● UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): an international treaty
addressing climate change, originally signed at the UN Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) in 1992. The UNFCCC seeks for the stabilization of Greenhouse
Gasses (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic human-induced interference with the Earth’s climate system. Such a level
should be achieved within a timeframe sufficient to ensure ecosystems to adapt naturally
to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to allow economic
development to proceed in a sustainable manner.
● Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): a scientific and intergov-
ernmental body addressing human-induced climate change. The IPCC was originally
established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the UN Envi-
ronmental Programme (UNEP) and was later endorsed by the UN General Assembly.
IPCC does not typically conduct its own original research but instead performs detailed
reviews of the existing body of scientific knowledge, which are publicly disseminated in
the form of comprehensive impact assessment reports.
● International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO): a specialized agency of the UN
responsible for harmonizing the international policies, standards and practices concern-
ing aviation. The Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) is a technical
committee of ICAO, responsible for assessing and formulating specific standards and rec-
ommendations related to aviation and the environment.
Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) has been widely adopted to assess the effects of (real or
projected) environmental mitigation measures and can be a useful tool to guide policy deci-
sions, but can be limited by uncertainties and/or incorrect assumptions introduced in the
analysis [12, 34, 37]. More advanced econometric analysis techniques/tools have been intro-
duced by CAEP and Elasticity of Demand (EOD) has been widely used by industry to assess
the responsiveness of consumers to airfare increases (i.e., how cost increases due to new
policies are passed to consumers and subsequently affect demand for aviation services).
Deregulation of the airline industry has become a predominant trend in various
markets. Deregulation has resulted in cheaper flights and more competition in the
industry. However, deregulation has also contributed to increases in traffic volume, fuel
use, airport/airspace congestion and noise [2, 37, 38]. Fuel cost and consumption are
important drivers for mitigation measures. Airlines have traditionally invested their
profits into acquiring new technologies and more efficient aircraft for reducing operating
costs through more efficient use of aircraft, optimal fleet mix and greater engine effi-
ciency. However, it is observed that the rate of improvement achievable with presently
known aerodynamic and power plant technologies will not allow offsetting the projected
air traffic growth post-COVID. So, the current Research and Innovation (R&I) trends
and opportunities identify digital aviation technologies as well as advances in energy
production (in particular bio-fuels) as the main pathways to mitigating the environmental
impact of aviation [12, 33, 39].
8 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

ICAO has been the main regulatory driver in modernising Communication, Navigation,
Surveillance (CNS) for ATM and avionics systems but the focus, so far, has been almost
exclusively on increasing efficiency (and safety) of the air transportation system. This,
unfortunately, has not yet translated in successful worldwide cooperation efforts. Despite
the ambitions targets set by large-scale regional R&I programs such as SESAR (Single
European Sky ATM Research) and NextGen (Next Generation Air Transport Management),
it appears that the impact of these US and EU initiatives has been hindered by a number
of contributing factors and, so far, they have not delivered to their promises, [40]. The
situation is even more fragmented in the Asia-Pacific region that, before COVID-19, was
the fastest growing aviation market in the world [41].
Various potential economic instruments have been proposed over the years and many of
them have been experimented or introduced in various nations. These instruments include:
● Fuel taxes and charges to promote fuel efficiency and reduce demand;
● Emissions charges aimed at encouraging the adoption of lower emitting technology;
● Emissions trading to encourage emissions reductions through market forces;
● Levies on empty aircraft seats to promote improvement in seat load factor;
● Levies on excessive traffic per destination served or type of equipment serving a
destination;
● Levies on route length to reduce the number of flights exceeding the minimum distance;
● Subsidies or rebates to act as an incentive for polluters to change their behaviour, such as
grants, soft loans, tax allowances or differentiation, and instruments similar to effluent,
product, or administrative charges.
Other instruments identified included voluntary measures (e.g., carbon offsetting) and
multi-modal transport (e.g., encouraging rail in place of air transport).

1.3 Sustainability Agenda


As discussed above, CAEP is a technical committee of ICAO that assists the nations in for-
mulating new polices and adopting new Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs)
related to technologies/operations that reduce aircraft noise and GHG/noxious emissions,
and more generally mitigate and keeps under control the aviation environmental impacts.
CAEP undertakes specific studies as requested by ICAO. Its scope of activities encompasses
the assessment of aircraft technology, operational improvement, market-based measures
and alternative fuels. CAEP has the following high-level goals:
● To limit or reduce the number of people affected by significant aircraft noise;
● To limit or reduce the impact of aviation greenhouse gas emissions on the global climate;
● To limit or reduce the impact of aviation emissions on air quality and water/land
contamination.
CAEP is composed by four permanent working groups and six dedicated task/support
groups as illustrated in Figure 1.3. CAEP Working Group 1 (WG1) addresses aircraft
noise technical issues. The main aim of WG1 is to keep international aircraft noise
certification standards (Annex 16, Volume I) up-to-date and effective, while ensuring that
the certification procedures are as simple and inexpensive as possible. WG2 addresses
k

ICAO Council

Annex 16, Vol. II –


CAEP Vice- Aircraft Engine
Doc 9889 – Airport CAEP Chairperson
Chairpersons Emissions
Air Quality Manual

Doc. 9184 – Airport Annex 16, Vol. III –


Planning Manual Aeroplane CO2
Emissions
CAEP Membership CAEP Secretary

Annex 16, Vol. I –


Annex 16, Vol. IV - C
Carbon
k

k
Procedure for Noise
Certification of Offsetting and Redu
Reduction
Aircraft Scheme for Internat
International
(CORSIA)
Aviation (CORSIA
WG2
WG1 WG3 WG4
Airports and
Noise Emissions CORSIA
Operations

MDG FESG ACCS ISG SCSEG


FTG
Modeling and Forecast and Economic Aviation Carbon Impacts and Sustainability Certification
Fuels Task Group
Databases Group Analysis Support Group Calculator Support Group Science Group Schemes Evaluation Group

Figure 1.3 CAEP organisation chart. Source: ICAO (https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/pages/caep.aspx).


k
10 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

aircraft noise and emissions issues linked to airports and operations. WG3 deals with
aircraft performance and emission technical matters, including the updating of Annex
16 – Volume II and the development of the new aircraft CO2 Standard, Annex 16 – Volume
III. The Modelling and Databases Group (MDG) carries out modelling efforts to support
the activities of the other CAEP groups and maintains various databases such as the
movements, fleet and population databases. The Forecasting and Economic Analysis
Support Group (FESG) has the important role of developing and maintaining the models
and databases necessary to perform economic analysis and forecasting fleet growth. It
provides support to the other working groups within CAEP and works with them on data
issues that concern more than one working group.
The Aviation Carbon Calculator Support Group (ACCS) has the task of developing and
updating an impartial, transparent methodology for computing the CO2 emissions from
passenger air travel. The Impacts and Science Group (ISG) is composed of academics,
scientists and engineers responsible for informing the CAEP Secretariat on scientific
findings (atmospheric pollution and noise) and the measures that the aviation industry
should implement to limit the increase in global average temperature to less than 2∘ C
above pre-industrial levels. The Global Market Based Measure Technical Task Force
(GMTF) has a mandate to develop recommendations for the Monitoring, Reporting and
Verification (MRV) system of international aviation emissions and for the quality of offset
remits for use in a global market-based measure for international aviation. The Alternative
Fuels Task Force (AFTF) assesses the potential emission reductions attainable from the
use of alternative fuels in aviation.
Towards the end of the 1990’s, the US and EU started addressing aviation SD as an
integral part of their policy agendas and initiated large-scale R&I initiatives. The EU
Advisory Council for Aviation R&I in Europe (ACARE) initially developed Vision 2020
and, successively FlightPath 2050, setting unprecedented emission reduction targets (both
for gaseous pollutants and noise). In parallel, the Clean Sky (EU Framework 7) and Clean
Sky 2 (Horizon 2020) programs were launched to address aircraft technology evolutions,
while the ATM quota was assigned to SESAR. In the US, the NASA Environmentally
Responsible Aviation (ERA) program addressed objectives similar to Clean Sky/Clean Sly
2 but with a much smaller budget and without progressing to the high Technical Readiness
Level (TRL) required in the EU industry-driven programs. The ERA program completed
its mandate in 2016 and was followed by the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP), which
is still ongoing and pursues similar objectives to EU FlightPath 2050 (Figure 1.4).
Some of the open questions that the global aviation community is facing are:
● Large uncertainties over future trends in traffic, technology, and therefore emissions,
depending on the scenarios/assumptions selected for the projections. Key contributing
factors include uncertainties about the pace of introduction of game-changing technolo-
gies and the impacts of the current infrastructure constraints (“bottlenecks”) in limiting
growth both in airport/airspace capacity and demand.
● The monetary impact of aviation emissions on the environment and the monetary
benefits of mitigating those impacts. As already mentioned, different models and
different scenarios/assumptions produce different results and there is no consensus on
the appropriate level at which any environmental levy should be set.
● As the environmental benefits (reduction of gaseous and noise emissions) achievable
with conventional aircraft/power plants configurations have reached a plateau, it is
1.3 Sustainability Agenda 11

ACARE – SRA and SRIA (vs. 2000) NASA – ERA (vs. 1998) and SIP (vs. 2005)

Subsonic A/C Vision FlightPath ERA ERA ERA SIP SIP SIP
Emissions 2020 2050 2015 2025 2035 2015–25 2025–35 >2035

Fuel/CO2 50% (38% 2015) 75% 50% 50% 60% 40–50% 50–60% 60–80%

70–75% LTO*
NOX 80% (‐‐‐‐‐ 2015) 90% 75% 75% 80% 80% >80%
60–70% CRZ

Noise 50% (37% 2015) 65% 32dB 42dB 71dB 2–232dB** 32–42dB 42–52dB

ACARE ‐ Advisory Council for Aviation R&I in Europe, SRA ‐ Strategic Research Agenda, SRIA ‐ Strategic Research and
Innovation Agenda, ERA ‐ Environmentally Responsible Aviation, SIP ‐ Strategic Implementation Plan

A/C ‐ Aircraft, LTO ‐ Landing and Take/Off, CRZ ‐ Cruise, *Below CAEP6, **Below Chapter 4. All % reductions are in
Passenger‐km

Figure 1.4 Fuel, gaseous emissions and noise goals.

MAPPING OUT THE INDUSTRY COMMITMENTS

Known technology, operations Economic measures No action


and infrastructure measures
y
Net emissions trajectory o log
Biofuels and additional hn
Tec
new-generation technologies ‘No actions’ trajectory ons
r ti
a
Ope e
ctur
stru
Infra
improve fleet fuel
Additional
efficiency by 1.5% per year
from now until 2020 technologies
Carbon
indexed to 2005
CO2 emissions

and biofuels
cap net emissions from
neutral
2020 through carbon growth
neutral growth

by 2050, net aviation


–50%
carbon emissions will be by 2050
half of what they were in
2005.

(Schematic, indicative diagram only) 2005 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Figure 1.5 Carbon emission reduction goals and research drivers.

essential to investigate more radical approaches. These include advanced route/airspace


optimisation techniques through the adoption of network-centric ATM and avionics
technologies, innovative aircraft/engine design approaches and alternative aviation fuel,
including biofuels. This concept is graphically illustrated in Figure 1.5. Although the
illustration refers to CO2 emission reduction goals, similar conclusions have been found
for other GHG and noxious emissions [42].
12 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

Additionally, there is limited practical experience with emission taxes and trading
schemes at a global level and there are uncertainties regarding the applicability of many
economic and technical measures to countries not included in the UNFCCC.
Current strategies for ensuring aviation sustainability include regulating aircraft
design/operations with environmentally-friendly policies (carbon tax/offsetting schemes,
noise emission charges, replacing or ruling-out old fleet, etc.). However, in the long term,
digital transformation initiatives are essential and will radically transform product and
service lifecycle management processes both in the aerospace and aviation industries.
Such initiatives will include:
● Adopting Multidisciplinary Design Optimisation and Multi-Objective Mission Optimi-
sation (MDO/MOMO) tools to develop new CNS/ATM and Avionics (CNS+A) systems
for eco-friendly flight operations (i.e., management of airspace, trajectory and mission)
[33, 39, 43].
● Adopting MDO and other digital tools (e.g., artificial intelligence, robotic process
automation and digital twins) for Design, Development, Test and Evaluation (DDT&E)
and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of more energy efficient and “cleaner”
(i.e., less polluting) propulsive systems [39].
● Adopting MDO and other digital tools for DDT&E/MRO of lighter and more aerodynam-
ically efficient manned/unmanned aircraft [39].
● Enabling the cost-effective introduction of alternative aviation fuels, especially third gen-
eration biofuels, by deploying the required CPS architectures (e.g., distributed sensor
networks and AI-based health/quality monitoring) to improve crop quality, maximise
fuel yield and minimise land take [44].
● Developing Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) for multimodal airport transformation.
These will include advanced digital solutions (e.g., sensor networks, user-apps, cen-
tralise/distributed traffic management, connected autonomous vehicle technologies)
which aim to provide innovative services relating to various interconnected modes of
transport and enable users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated and
“smarter” use of the transport network [12, 45].
However, there is a need to assess the impacts of various possible measures for encour-
aging the adoption of digital/sustainable aviation technologies, including the applicability
to aviation of mature solutions and/or promising operational concepts developed in other
sectors.

1.4 Emission Taxes, Trading and Offsetting


One of the earliest propositions brought forward at the onset of the global warming debate
was a tax imposed on companies based on the amount of emissions they produce, specifi-
cally on GHGs such as CO2 and was commonly known as “Carbon Tax” (CT). CT is simply
a direct payment to government (collection body), based on the carbon content of the fuel
being consumed. Given that the primary objective of the abatement policy is to lower car-
bon dioxide emissions, carbon taxes make sense economically and environmentally because
they tax the externality (carbon) directly.
1.4 Emission Taxes, Trading and Offsetting 13

Under an Emission Trading (ET) system, the quantity of emissions is fixed (often called a
"cap") and the right to emit becomes a tradable commodity. The cap (say 10,000 tons of car-
bon) is divided into transferable units (10,000 permits of 1 ton of carbon each). Permits are
often referred to as "GHG units," "quotas" or "allowances." For compliance, actors participat-
ing in the system must hold a number of permits greater or equal to their actual emissions
level. Once permits are allocated (by auction, sale or free allocation) to the actors participat-
ing in the system, they are then tradable. This enables emissions reductions to take place
where least costly. Some key characteristics of ET schemes include:
● The emission levels are specified upfront, allowing more predictable estimates of emis-
sions. This also allows for countries to agree upon specific emissions reduction levels,
making international environmental agreements more negotiable.
● Emissions trading is more appealing to private industry, as firms can profit by selling their
excess greenhouse gas allowances. Creating such a market for pollution could potentially
drive emissions reductions below targets.
● Emissions trading is better equipped than taxes to deal with all six GHGs included in the
Kyoto Protocol and sinks (e.g. trees which absorb and store carbon) in one comprehensive
strategy. Each gas has a "greenhouse gas potential" (GWP, based on carbon dioxide). Thus,
firms emitting more than one GHG have more flexibility in making reductions.
● Permits adjust automatically for inflation and external price shocks, while taxes do not.
For example, the US has already experienced an extended period of stable greenhouse
gas emissions levels from 1972 to 1985 because of high oil prices. Taxes would need to be
designed to adjust for such external shocks.
Compared to ET, CT offer a broader scope for emissions reductions, extending to all
carbon-based fuel consumption, including gasoline, home heating oil and aviation fuels.
● Compared to emissions trading, which involves significant transaction costs, taxes
involve little transaction cost, over all stages of their lifetime.
● Taxes are not susceptible to speculative or hoarding behaviour by firms or non-
governmental organizations which may harm the market forces.
● Compared to emissions trading, which rely on the supply and demand of emission
permits to control emissions, carbon taxes provide a permanent incentive to reduce
emissions. Improvements in technology and operations might lead to reductions in the
permit price, lowering the incentive to reduce emissions.
● Emissions trading proposals are highly complicated and technical, unlike taxes which are
familiar instruments to policymakers. Ongoing costs are also low for tax systems because
of the lack of monitoring and enforcement requirements.
● Emissions trading may prevent meaningful domestic reductions from taking place, as
some countries might choose to buy emission permits. This rises significant equity issues
among developed, developing and transitional economies.
● Carbon taxes earn revenue, which can be "recycled" back into the economy by reducing
taxes on income, labour and/or capital investment. Permit systems have the potential to
earn revenue, but only if permits are auctioned.
Carbon offsetting allows individuals and companies to reduce their carbon footprint by
investing in environmental projects elsewhere. Credits are usually purchased and used by
14 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

individuals or companies to cancel out or “offset” the emissions they generate during their
day-to-day life or normal course of business (e.g., using air transport). Carbon offsets can be
used to offset emissions voluntarily or to meet regulatory requirements. Carbon offsetting
projects may include:
● Reducing the cost differential of renewable energy such as wind, solar, hydroelectric
power or biofuel, thereby increasing its commercial viability;
● Combustion or containment of methane generated by landfills, industrial waste or farm
animals – converting methane to CO2 ;
● Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, vehicles or power plants;
● Reforestation initiatives.
In 2009, the Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe) introduced a carbon
management initiative for airports, called the Airport Carbon Accreditation program, which
allows airports to be recognised (through accreditation) for their efforts in managing and
reducing their carbon emissions. Airports can be accredited to one of four levels in the
program [46]:

● Level 1: Mapping, requiring carbon footprint measurement;


● Level 2: Reduction, requiring a carbon management plan to be in place;
● Level 3: Optimisation, requiring airports to engage stakeholders (airlines, catering, air
traffic control, ground services, rail, etc.) to reduce the airport’s carbon footprint;
● Level 3+: Neutrality, requiring airports to neutralise any residual emissions through
carbon offsetting.

The accreditation requires airports to verify their activities (e.g., carbon monitoring and
management processes) by a group of independent verifiers. The carbon footprint of an
airport is verified in accordance with the ISO 14064 standard (Greenhouse Gas Accounting),
which requires specific supporting evidence.

1.5 ATM and Avionics Systems

In the last two decades, a number of major ATM modernisation initiatives such as the
Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) and the Next Generation Air Transportation
System (NextGen), were launched around the globe to cope with the rapid growth of
air traffic and mitigate the growing congestion and inefficiency issues. These initiatives
support an evolution of the ATM system into a highly integrated network where civil,
military, and remotely piloted aircraft will continuously and dynamically share the
common airspace in a highly automated and collaborative decision-making environment.
To meet the goals of enhanced flight safety, environmental performance, and efficiency
while simultaneously accommodating the predicted traffic growth, several key policy
directions have been identified by various governments internationally [47]: robust and
integrated planning, adoption of advanced technology, international harmonisation of
ATM systems, enhanced regional aviation safety, and environmental impact mitigation.
In this context one key strategic priority for countries is to plan, develop, and implement
1.5 ATM and Avionics Systems 15

a new ATM platform that meets the future needs of both civil and military aviation while
enhancing ATM business competitiveness by addressing service capability, continuity,
and environmental sustainability [48]. With air traffic expected to grow more substan-
tially within the lifespan of the new transport aircraft, along with the introduction of new
concepts to improve airspace organisation and airport operations, these major aviation ren-
ovation programmes around the world will play a critical role in the successful transition
to new technologies and operational standards. Research is therefore needed to develop
a new ATM regulatory framework and new systems for dynamic airspace management
(DAM), free-flight and intent-based operations. This also encompasses the development
of innovative methods and algorithms for the dynamic allocation of civil/military airspace
resources and of CNS+A technologies enabling the unrestricted access of remotely piloted
aerial systems (RPASs) to all classes of airspace.
Ground-based automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) currently provides
wide area surveillance coverage, including those vast regions of the planet that are not
under primary or secondary surveillance radar (SSR) coverage. A receiver autonomous
integrity monitoring (RAIM) system enables controllers to anticipate and plan for a rever-
sion to procedural separation if a GPS outage is predicted. For areas that are under radar
surveillance (major air corridors and terminal manoeuvring areas) sensor-fused radar
and ADS-B data have proved to be superior to radar data alone, particularly for tracking
manoeuvring aircraft. Space-based ADS-B promises to expand the benefits of ADS-B to
oceanic airspace and addresses the low reporting rate of automatic dependent surveillance
contract (ADS-C). Optimised ATM procedures such as tailored arrivals [49] and the
Green RNP project [50] have been trialled or already implemented. A growing number of
airport/airline slot management and Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) centres around
the world have contributed to optimises the allocation of airport and air traffic control
(ATC) slots, while traffic management initiatives, such as ground delays programmes,
tackle critical congestion situations, thereby simultaneously reducing fuel consumption,
noise and gaseous emissions. Collaborative decision making (CDM) procedures improve
common situational awareness and permit pre-tactical slot swapping. Current initiatives
include user preferred routes (UPRs) and the extension of national CDM and ATFM
operations to support long-range ATFM strategies for entire world regions. Conducting
ATFM across national borders will improve its effectiveness, particularly for commercial
airline companies. For example, delay can be absorbed en-route or allocated as ground
delay if congestion is anticipated at the destination airport several FIRs away. Achieving
this in the Asia-Pacific region without a single regulatory authority, like Eurocontrol or
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is one of the issues to be addressed but the
benefits are evident. Early regional CDM trials between Bangkok and Singapore have
proved promising [51], and it is clear that interoperability and harmonisation of standards
will be key factors in moving forward.
In line with the ICAO’s ASBU implementation timelines, new high-integrity and
safety-critical CNS+A systems will be developed and deployed for strategic, tactical, and
emergency ATM operations, and in particular:

● Civil/military dual-use CNS+A technologies, including a secure and reliable network


infrastructure and airborne datalink for information sharing and CDM, network-centric
16 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

ATM technologies for strategic and tactical ATFM, DAM and real-time four-dimensional
trajectory (4DT) operability.
● CNS+A technologies for RPAS, reliably meeting the required communication, navi-
gation, and surveillance performance (RCP, RNP, and RSP) standards for unrestricted
access of RPAS to airspace (non-segregated operations). In this perspective, essential
steps are the adoption of fused cooperative/non-cooperative surveillance systems,
beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) communication systems, high-integrity navigation systems
and integrated avionics architectures.
● Satellite-based CNS systems, such as multi-constellation global navigation satellite sys-
tems (GNSS) and space-based datalink and ADS-B, for improved coverage of remote and
oceanic airspace, precision approach, and auto-land.
● Airport ATM systems, mainly consisting of safety nets for ground and air traffic oper-
ations, remote tower systems (RTSs) and new standardised air traffic control operator
(ATCO) work positions. In particular, the advanced surface movement guidance and con-
trol system (A-SMGCS) will also provide runway incursion and excursion detection and
alerting similar to the airport movement area safety system (AMASS) and runway aware-
ness and advisory system (RAAS) developed in Europe and the US.

A network-centric communication approach is required to allow greater sharing of ATM


information, such as weather, airport operational status, flight data, airspace status and
restrictions. Key network building blocks include high-integrity, high-throughput and
secure avionics data-links for dual civil/military usage as well as a system wide information
management (SWIM) system. Web service technologies for mobile, internet-based access
will also be included to flexibly expand the number of participants in the CDM processes.
Business intelligence and big data will also be implemented as part of SWIM for enhanced
data mining. The implementation of enterprise-wide data warehouses by ANSPs will
enable ATM to move beyond post-event reporting and to mine years of historical data to
determine underlying traffic flow patterns and emission levels so as to derive enhanced
models to address them. Automated air traffic flow management (A-ATFM) systems will
enhance the continuous balancing of air-traffic demand with capacity to ensure the safe
and efficient utilisation of airspace resources. Automated dynamic airspace management
(ADAM) will enable the seamless optimal allocation of airspace resources. Real-time
multi-objective 4DT optimisation and negotiation/validation algorithms, implemented
in the next generation of ground-based and airborne CNS+A systems, will promote a
continuous reduction in environmental impacts, which will be particularly significant
in severe congestion and weather conditions. To enhance the operational efficiency at
both regional and global levels, it is essential to address the interoperability of the ATM
regulatory framework evolutions within and across regions, preferably taking the move
from the European/US frameworks (being defined by SESAR and NextGen). This will likely
contribute to the global ICAO initiatives in this domain, such as the Aviation System Block
Upgrades (ASBUs). From a technological perspective, interoperability is also required at
various levels, including signal-in-space (SIS), system level and human-machine interface
and interaction (HMI2 ).
SESAR [10] has defined three phases of ATM system development in an evolutionary
roadmap, represented in Figure 1.6. These phases are:
1.6 Lightweight Structures and Materials 17

Figure 1.6 Evolutionary roadmap for


Time-Based Operations
ATM Operations.
Trajectory-Based Operations

Performance-Based Operations

● Time-based operations, for which ATM strategic and tactical actions (including ATFM)
are aimed at optimal traffic synchronisation.
● Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO), focussing on a further-evolved predictability, flexi-
bility, and environment sustainability of air traffic, unleashing additional capacity.
● Performance-based operations, for which all the available CNS performance is exploited
to establish a high-performance, network-centric, collaborative, integrated, and seamless
ATM system, supporting high-density operations.

TBO are based on the adoption of 4DT defining the aircraft’s flight path in three
spatial dimensions (i.e. latitude, longitude, and altitude), and in time from origin to
destination [52] and of the associated precise estimation and correction of current and
predicted traffic positions. Each aircraft follows a 4DT, which is determined via a CDM
process involving novel systems, such as the next generation flight management system
(NG-FMS), and evolving tactically from the original reference business trajectory. Increased
efficiency and higher throughput are obtained in a CNS+A context by actively managing
4DT. In the PBO context, the next generation air traffic management (NG-ATM) services
will be matched to the performance capability of aircraft. Airlines deploying PBO-capable
equipment will benefit from higher scheduling priority and easier access to congested
areas. These regulations will impose requirements in terms of system performance rather
than in terms of specific technology or equipment.

1.6 Lightweight Structures and Materials

The continuous push to reduce weight and enhance mechanical properties of aerostruc-
tures has led to significant advances in aircraft design and lifecycle management processes,
as demonstrated by contemporary airliners such as the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” and the
Airbus A350 Extra Wide-Body (XWB) aircraft. These aircraft deliver substantial improve-
ments when compared to previous generation airliners, largely through the selective use
of new advanced materials in various parts of the airframe and propulsive components
[53, 54]. In particular, the adoption of carbon fibre composites and other hybrid materi-
als has facilitated the implementation of much lighter aircraft designs while improving the
overall mechanical properties of aerostructures [55].
Lighter aircraft translates into reduced thrust and fuel consumption, with associated
enhancements in payload capacity, range and endurance. Additionally, the lower thrust
requirements allow for the integration of smaller, lighter and quieter engines, thereby
leading to noise reduction and further fuel savings. Open research challenges and oppor-
tunities include methods for fatigue life assessment, maintenance and testing of composite
structures (e.g., new composite repair technologies using hybrid material systems and
18 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

new nanotechnologies to improve adhesive bonding processes, thermal properties and


lightning protection); sandwich structure optimisation to prevent buckling and wrinkling
of the soft core; net-like anisogrid structures to increase torsional rigidity and thereby avoid
flutter; using natural fibres and binders (e.g., bamboo, cork, resins and latexes) to enhance
certain mechanical properties and recyclability of composite materials; and reducing the
production, assembly and operating costs of composites, which are significantly higher
than aluminium alloys. The global carbon fibre market is projected to grow from $2.33
billion in 2021 to $4.08 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3%
in the forecast period 2021-2028 [56]. The global demand for carbon fibre is very large
and rapidly growing. Currently, the production and maintenance of modern airliners (e.g.,
Airbus A380, Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and Boeing 777), requires approximately 15,000
tons of carbon fibre per annum. Thus, with the current rates of production (significantly
impacted by COVID-19), it is projected that there will be a shortage of supply to meet
demand in the near future.

1.7 Advanced Aerodynamic Configurations

In terms of design, aircraft have now for quite a long time been following a conventional
configuration which includes a central fuselage and a main wing, plus horizontal and
vertical tailplanes. This configuration presents a few practical advantages but is rather
far from the theoretical efficiency limits, as it relies on the functional separation between
payload-carrying and lift-producing elements. Key limitations of this approach include:
● the fuselage producing substantial drag but insignificant lift, which weighs heavily
against aerodynamic efficiency (i.e., the ratio between lift and drag of the entire aircraft
in representative operational conditions);
● the concentration of very significant shear stresses and bending moments in small
sections of the wing root, which then have to be reinforced adequately, adding
substantial structural weight;
● natural tendency to develop large tip vortexes, which result in an energy-dissipating and
operationally hazardous turbulent wake.
Advanced aircraft configurations attempt to enhance the aerodynamic efficiency of the
aircraft in representative operational flight conditions, compared to conventional designs.
Various solutions have been proposed throughout the years, including hybrid wing-bodies
(e.g., blended wing-body, flying wing), box-wing aircraft and advanced morphing aircraft
technologies. Some of the key gains in such technologies include respectively a 30% increase
in aerodynamic efficiency or a 40% reduction in induced drag. Despite the relatively high
confidence in these theoretical efficiency gains and some successful operational experience
in the defence sector, the actual adoption of these advanced concepts in the civil transport
domain has been encumbered by the limited maturity of certain technologies and a luke-
warm attitude by major aircraft manufacturers, which adopted a more risk-averse approach
financially, resulting in further evolutions of the conventional configuration. More recently,
the diminishing returns associated with further investments in conventional aerodynamic
technologies is eliciting a more courageous attitude in embracing the new configurations.
1.9 Alternative Aviation Fuels 19

For instance, Airbus has unveiled that the most advanced hydrogen aircraft concept being
investigated for marketization in just a couple of decades is a blended wing-body. The gen-
eral and business aviation sectors also appear more interested in experimenting with some
more advanced configurations and it is expected that this will also contribute to the large
transport aircraft sector’s willingness to develop and marketize the new concepts.

1.8 Advanced Propulsion Concepts


Aircraft engines are the source of the entirety of the adverse atmospheric emissions of the
aircraft, and have therefore been at the focus of major aviation modernisation initiatives.
The current standards revolve around air-breathing hydrocarbon-based combustion tech-
nology, either in the form of turbine-based engines or less commonly of reciprocating piston
engines (typically for small aircraft). The limited thermal efficiency (i.e., transformation of
chemical energy in thermodynamic energy) and propulsive efficiency (transformation of
thermodynamic energy in mechanical energy) jointly concur to yield a very low overall
efficiency for these engine technologies [42].
Technological advances are being pursued to further increase the bypass ratio (which
promotes propulsive efficiency), reducing the weight of all components, the thermofluidic
efficiency of compressors and turbines, the thermal resistance of materials and the intro-
duction of less environmentally-harmful fuels and of electric aircraft technologies. In the
near term, further evolutions of the conventional turbofan engine such as geared turbofan
and 3-spool turbofan will dominate the scene, but these are already affected by diminished
investment returns, hence are expected to give the way to turboelectric propulsion concepts
and to boundary-layer ingestion engines.

1.9 Alternative Aviation Fuels


The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is targeting a 50% reduction in carbon
dioxide emissions by 2050, compared to 2005 levels [57]. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF)
are expected to be one of the main tools in the mix of technologies which will allow aviation
to attain the IATA 2050 and other more ambitious carbon neutrality targets, as the benefits
associated with the introduction of new aircraft technologies are largely insufficient when
taking the magnitude of the global growth of air transport into consideration. More effective
actions to reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions are required in both the short and the
long term.
For the last few years, in addition to effective fuel-burn reduction schemes, the avia-
tion industry has been working on ‘drop-in’ SAF blends that are compatible with current
powerplants and fully comply with international standards. The activity therefore mainly
involved aircraft retrofits and operational strategies (ground and air) that had to be approved
and certified.
The planned scale-up of SAF involves production from biomass (including land plants
and algae) and other carbon feedstock sources (e.g. bio-waste) in order to increase the blend-
ing with Jet A1 progressively [58, 59]. As part of this initiative, the most efficient feedstock
20 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

sources and harvesting methods are identified. The methods for feedstock collection at
selected hubs, storage, and pre-processing are also determined. The processing and refin-
ing of feedstock to produce certification-compliant SAF, blending of SAF with Jet A1 and its
commercial distribution via a fully integrated and secure supply chain is one of the major
challenges in implementing this green initiative. Economic viability analysis for identify-
ing environmental auditing methods and overall cost-risk analysis will be performed. This
initiative additionally seeks to address the certification, government excise rebates, and
regulatory legislation issues. Eventually, end-user operational monitoring will be imple-
mented, including actual greenhouse emissions.
For the long term, a radical shift away from the petroleum-derived fuels in aviation will
be essential for attaining carbon-neutrality in the fuel lifecycle, and will be highly desirable
due to the predicted price trends and strategic reliance on imports. To allow this radical
change, an evolution of specifications and logistics is required. The future alternative global
fuel supply chain strategies (especially within the Asia-Pacific region) as well as the feasi-
bility of manageable aircraft systems and airport infrastructure changes in both the civil
and military aviation sectors will be a major factor in the long-term and enduring success
of SAF [60].

1.10 Systems Engineering Evolutions


In the last decades, airlines have been transitioning towards performance-based contract-
ing that guarantees minimum performance levels, including operating costs and thus
shifting risks from the airline to the aircraft manufacturer. This requires research and
innovation initiatives focussed on reducing costs in aircraft manufacturing and operations
through improved maintenance (e.g. system health monitoring, diagnosis and prognosis)
and upgrades (e.g. avionics hardware and software). Ensuring and sustaining structural
and systems integrity of ageing aircraft is a major challenge for the aviation industry.
Research on the design, development, implementation, and certification of technological
and non-technological solutions is necessary to address the associated issues. In this
regard, a multi-scale approach has to be employed, as the proper way to address the unique
and specific demands of the aviation sector (from general aviation to commercial airlines).
Over the past decade, many commercial airline companies have significantly evolved
their fleets and services, with an expansion of long-range operations and the associated rise
of global scale hubs, such as in the Middle East. On the other hand, there has been a world-
wide proliferation of low-cost carriers (LCCs), posing new challenges to the conventional
airline business model. Inevitably, an increasing competition from LCCs employing more
fuel-efficient aircraft is forcing the aviation industry as a whole to identify cost-effective
solutions for servicing ageing aircraft, which form a substantial percentage of conventional
airline fleets. The inclusion of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components has become
common practice for extending service life. However, the introduction of COTS in avia-
tion poses several challenges for obsolescence management and adds complexities to the
configuration and certification processes. Research is therefore needed to make technol-
ogy insertion less onerous by developing open architectures, common interfaces, backward
compatibility, and harmonisation methods for integrating old and new system components.
1.11 Airport Evolutions 21

As mentioned above, the extensive adoption of composites and lightweight hybrid mate-
rials on the latest generation of airliners (e.g. Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus 350 XWB
utilise substantially advanced fibre-reinforced composites) and military aircraft also poses
new challenges in terms of logistics supportability. Thus, systems engineering research is
addressing the cost-effective management of safety standards, including non-destructive
inspection and testing of composite components for continuing airworthiness, economic
composite repair processes, and training/skilling-up of the aircraft maintenance workforce.
To reflect these changes, current initiatives for green aviation are investigating the adoption
of advanced techniques and models for aircraft through-life support. The development of
rapid non-destructive inspection and testing techniques that enables the fast characteri-
sation of structural damages and their impact on structural integrity is the major factor
driving new aircraft design and development through-life support. Additionally, training
requirements and associated standards for the next generation of aerospace/aviation pro-
fessionals are constantly evolving to reflect the adoption of new cost-effective manufactur-
ing and repair/maintenance processes for composites aircraft, modular architectures, and
civil/military aircraft data networks. Additionally, new Integrated Vehicle Health Manage-
ment (IVHM) solutions are being investigated to improve logistic supportability and COTS
components repair/replacement strategies. Aircraft mid-life update, reliable COTS compo-
nents insertion, and the evolution of current structural and system integrity monitoring,
diagnosis and prognosis approaches are identified as the potential solutions for extending
both new and ageing aircraft service life.

1.11 Airport Evolutions


Due to the rapid increase in the number of air passengers internationally, several airports
worldwide are under significant pressure to increase their efficiency and capacity, while
also improving airport safety, security, and environmental sustainability. Figure 1.7 shows
the trends in passenger traffic at the ten busiest airports worldwide. Some new entrants have
evolved considerably over the past two decades as major “global connector” airlines have
consolidated their business models and LCCs have become important players in the indus-
try. Environmental regulations and international rules have greatly shifted emphasis and
recent airport technologies, such as new types of aircraft, satellite-based ATM, improved
security controls, and extensive adoption of information technology, are being introduced
at an increasing rate. From a business perspective, the organisational and financing charac-
teristics of airports are also changing rapidly, stimulated to a large extent by airline dereg-
ulation and technological changes.
The traditional model that places airport management in the hands of a central bureau-
cracy within the national governments does not meet the needs of large airports in a
fast-changing industry. The emerging airport business models focus on the concept of
the airport authority, which is usually a corporate entity owned by government or private
investors or a combination of the two, which acts as an autonomous and flexible airport
operator. To reflect these technological and business changes, advances in the strategies
and models for planning, designing, and managing airports are being investigated.
New aircraft types and ATM systems are requiring substantial airside development and
22 1 Sustainable Aviation: An Introduction

100

80
Million passengers

60

40

20 Charlotte/Douglas Guangzhou Baiyun O'Hare


Chengdu Shuangliu Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta Orlando
Dallas/Fort Worth Los Angeles
Denver McCarran
0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Year

Figure 1.7 Passenger traffic in the world’s busiest airports. Source: various, collected on Wikipedia
“List of Busiest Airports by Passenger Traffic”.

redevelopment initiatives, which involve aprons, fuelling systems, taxiways, holding areas,
de-icing bays, runways, etc. Novel airport systems and procedures are being introduced
to reduce noise and gaseous emissions, such as minimised auxiliary power unit (APU)
usage, engine test, noise barriers, etc. Landside development and redevelopment initiatives
are addressing renewable energy supply and security upgrades for the terminal building,
greener vehicular ground transportation systems, improved airport ground access systems,
and the transformation of large airports into multimodal transport nodes.
Advances in airport operations, including the efficient management of conges-
tion and queues, implementation of airport collaborative decision making (A-CDM),
Re-categorisation (RECAT) of wake turbulence and prediction initiatives, and traffic
demand peak prediction and analysis methods are all being promoted. The coordination
between airline operations centres (AOCs) and ATM systems, integrated departure and
arrival management (DMAN/AMAN), and pre-departure sequencing and clearance
are several key initiatives undertaken for the management of congestion in airports.
Additionally, as part of improved airport operations, airline/operator business models and
tools, including alternate slot trading mechanisms, are being identified.

1.12 Safety and Security Provisions


Over the past decade, global aviation security targets have increased significantly. External
factors, such as the outbreak of various pandemics (including COVID-19), terrorist attacks,
refugee crises and diplomatic clashes have greatly disrupted the aviation market at various
References 23

times and have led to significant evolutions in airport security [61]. To account for the tech-
nological advances and process enhancements being introduced across all entities (airlines,
airports, aircraft and ATM), an evolution of the cyber and physical security infrastructure
in the aviation sector is required. The planned evolution of policies, objectives and plan-
ning is the baseline upon which a cyber-physical Security Management System (SEMS)
will have to be developed. Safety assurance procedures, safety training and promotion,
as well as risk management strategies are other key factors affecting the development of
a SEMS. To further enhance security, additional airworthiness provisions and safety tar-
gets for both manned and unmanned aircraft are being investigated. Enhanced airport and
ATM cyber and physical infrastructure will also provide substantial improvements to the
overall air transportation system [62]. In particular, within the scope of terminal security,
enhancements are being studied for security checkpoints/gates and passenger screening,
waiting and transit areas, and security systems for baggage screening and reconciliation.
Enhanced security measures will be developed for airside operations as well, including
aircraft monitoring, aircrew/apron personnel movements, passenger boarding and detec-
tion of security threats. Important technology advancements are expected to address the
security aspects of ATM facilities. In fact, the progressive adoption of greater automation,
networking and data-links in ATM exposes the entire air transport system to new threats
associated with unlawful interference as well as criminal and terrorist acts. The necessary
technology-driven and process-driven regulatory framework evolutions for cyber-physical
security (vehicles and infrastructure) are currently being explored [63].

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2021-2028”, URL: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/carbon-
fiber-market-101719
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C.C., and Fasano, G. (2019). Cyber Awareness Trends in Avionics. Proceediungs of
the 38th IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC 2019). San Diego, CA,
USA, September 2019.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Ebenezer Dorset’s boy having been lost or stolen. That was
all I wanted to know. I bought some smoking tobacco, referred
casually to the price of black-eyed peas, posted my letter
surreptitiously and came away. The postmaster said the mail-
carrier would come by in an hour to take the mail on to
Summit.
65. When I got back to the cave Bill and the boy were not to
be found. I explored the vicinity of the cave, and risked a
yodel or two, but there was no response.
66. So I lighted my pipe and sat down on a mossy bank to
await developments.
67. In about half an hour I heard the bushes rustle, and Bill
wabbled out into the little glade in front of the cave. Behind
him was the kid, stepping softly like a scout, with a broad grin
on his face. Bill stopped, took off his hat and wiped his face
with a red handkerchief. The kid stopped about eight feet
behind him.
68. “Sam,” says Bill, “I suppose you’ll think Typical O. Henry
I’m a renegade, but I couldn’t help it. I’m a speech in this
grown person with masculine proclivities paragraph.
and habits of self-defence, but there is a
time when all systems of egotism and predominance fail. The
boy is gone. I have sent him home. All is off. There was
martyrs in old times,” goes on Bill, “that suffered death rather
than give up the particular graft they enjoyed. None of ’em
ever was subjugated to such supernatural tortures as I have
been. I tried to be faithful to our articles of depredation; but
there came a limit.”
69. “What’s the trouble, Bill?” I asks him.
70. “I was rode,” says Bill, “the ninety miles to the stockade,
not barring an inch. Then, when the settlers was rescued, I
was given oats. Sand ain’t a palatable substitute. And then,
for an hour I had to try to explain to him why there was nothin’
in holes, how a road can run both ways and what makes the
grass green. I tell you, Sam, a human can only stand so
much. I takes him by the neck of his clothes and drags him
down the mountain. On the way he kicks my legs black-and-
blue from the knees down; and I’ve got to have two or three
bites on my thumb and hand cauterized.
71. “But he’s gone”—continues Bill—“gone Note the stage trick
home. I showed him the road to Summit and of a character in
kicked him about eight feet nearer there at ignorance while the
audience enjoys his
one kick. I’m sorry we lose the ransom; but it delusion. The
was either that or Bill Driscoll to the surprise is his, not
madhouse.” ours.

72. Bill is puffing and blowing but there is a look of ineffable


peace and growing content on his rose-pink features.
73. “Bill,” says I, “there isn’t any heart disease in your family,
is there?”
74. “No,” says Bill, “nothing chronic except malaria and
accidents. Why?”
75. “Then you might turn around,” says I, “and have a look
behind you.”
76. Bill turns and sees the boy, and loses his Suggestion.
complexion and sits down plump on the
ground and begins to pluck aimlessly at grass and little sticks.
For an hour I was afraid for his mind. And Straight delineation.
then I told him that my scheme was to put The former is the
the whole job through immediately and that better art.
we would get the ransom and be off with it
by midnight if old Dorset fell in with our proposition. So Bill
braced up enough to give the kid a weak Plot Situation.
sort of a smile and a promise to play the
Russian in a Japanese war with him as soon as he felt a little
better.
77. I had a scheme for collecting that Plot Incident.
ransom without danger of being caught by
counterplots that ought to commend itself to professional
kidnappers. The tree under which the answer was to be left—
and the money later on—was close to the road fence with big,
bare fields on all sides. If a gang of constables should be
watching for any one to come for the note they could see him
a long way off crossing the fields or in the road. But no sirree!
At half-past eight I was up in that tree as well hidden as a tree
toad, waiting for the messenger to arrive.
78. Exactly on time, a half-grown boy rides up the road on a
bicycle, locates the paste-board box at the foot of the fence-
post, slips a folded piece of paper into it and pedals away
again back toward Summit.
79. I waited an hour and then concluded the thing was
square. I slid down the tree, got the note, slipped along the
fence till I struck the woods, and was back at the cave in
another half an hour. I opened the note, got near the lantern
and read it to Bill. It was written with a pen in a crabbed hand,
and the sum and substance of it was this:
Two Desperate Men. Main Plot
Incident.
Gentlemen: I received your letter to-day by
post, in regard to the ransom you ask for the return of my son.
I think you are a little high in your demands, and I hereby
make you a counter-proposition, which I am inclined to
believe you will accept. You bring Johnny home and pay me
two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him
off your hands. You had better come at night Climax.
for the neighbors believe he is lost, and I
couldn’t be responsible for what they would do to anybody
they saw bringing him back.
Very respectfully,
Ebenezer Dorset.
80. “Great pirates of Penzance!” says I, “of all the impudent
—”
81. But I glanced at Bill, and hesitated. He Suggestion.
had the most appealing look in his eyes I
ever saw on the face of a dumb or a talking brute.
82. “Sam,” says he, “what’s two hundred Serio-comic.
and fifty dollars, after all? We’ve got the
money. One more night of this kid will send me to a bed in
Bedlam. Besides being a thorough gentleman, I think Mr.
Dorset is a spendthrift for making us a liberal offer. You ain’t
going to let the chance go, are you?”
83. “Tell you the truth, Bill,” says I, “this little he ewe lamb has
somewhat got on my nerves, too. We’ll take him home, pay
the ransom, and make our get-away.”
84. We took him home that night. We got Extreme of contrast.
him to go by telling him that his father had
bought a silver-mounted rifle and a pair of moccasins for him,
and we were going to hunt bears the next day.
85. It was just twelve o’clock when we Denouement.
knocked at Ebenezer’s front door. Just at
the moment when I should have been abstracting the fifteen
hundred dollars from the box under the tree, Contrasting Plot
according to the original proposition, Bill was Situation—
counting out two hundred and fifty dollars Summary of the
plot-outcome.
into Dorset’s hand.
86. When the kid found out we were going Note free use of
to leave him at home he started up a howl simile.
like a calliope and fastened himself as tight
as a leech to Bill’s leg. His father peeled him away gradually,
like a porous plaster.
87. “How long can you hold him?” asks Bill.
88. “I’m not as strong as I used to be,” says old Dorset. “But I
think I can promise you ten minutes.”
89. “Enough,” says Bill. “In ten minutes I Humor of hyperbole.
shall cross the Central, Southern and Middle
Western States, and be legging it trippingly for the Canadian
border.”
90. And, as dark as it was, and as fat as Bill Resultant Climax.
was, and as good a runner as I am, he was
a good mile and half out of Summit before I could catch up
with him.

BARRIE AND HIS WRITINGS


James Matthew Barrie was born at Kirriemuir (“Thrums”), Scotland,
on the 9th of May, 1860. He is the son of a physician, whom he has
lovingly embodied as “Dr. McQueen”; his mother and sister also will
live as “Jess” and “Leeby.” He was educated at Dumfries Academy,
entering the University of Edinburgh at eighteen, from which he was
graduated in 1882 with the degree of M.A., taking honors in English
literature. He began writing literary criticisms for the Edinburgh
Courant at this period. Several months after his graduation Barrie
took a position on a Nottingham newspaper, leaving that city for
London in 1885, where his literary career commenced in earnest; but
success did not come until after the customary struggles and
hindrances to which young literary aspirants are ever subject. In
1893 he married Miss Ansell, an actress, whom he divorced in 1909.
Some of his best-known books are Auld Licht Idylls; A Window in
Thrums; Margaret Ogilvy; My Lady Nicotine; The Little Minister
(afterwards dramatized); Sentimental Tommy; Tommy and Grizel (a
sequel), and The Little White Bird. He also wrote several plays, the
most notable of which are The Professor’s Love Story; Peter Pan (a
partial dramatization of The Little White Bird); Quality Street; and
What Every Woman Knows. It is interesting to note that Mr. Barrie
did not succeed in securing the magazine publication of “The
Courting of T’Nowhead’s Bell,” which is given herewith; it was first
issued between book covers, in 1888.

Barrie is a versatile story-teller, though he deals mostly with Scotch


characters. His early work exhibits his short-story ability at its best.
The warm human interest of A Window in Thrums and Auld Licht
Idylls, is matched only by Ian Maclaren’s Beside the Bonnie Briar
Bush and The Days of Auld Lang Syne. A quaint character-humor,
with swift flashes of pathos, pervades all his work, which for local-
color and insight into the character of the Scotch rural dweller has
won a place of distinction among the stories of present-day writers.
With Barrie, realism is rarely unpleasant; he sees all things with a
gentle eye. Even when in his keen ability to penetrate to the heart of
things he discovers the weaknesses of humanity, he also finds
redeeming virtues. Thus his characters are continually disclosing
their true natures underneath the garb and custom of picturesque
life, and we feel ourselves to be kin to them, every one. His dialect in
itself is masterly and often deliciously humorous, so that actions and
dialogue in themselves common-place take on an extraordinary
interest. No modern writer has a greater gift of character-drawing,
and none is more sympathetically human in his interpretations of the
Scotch commoner.
It is my contemptible weakness that if I say a character
smiled vacuously, I must smile vacuously; if he frowns or
leers, I frown or leer; if he is a coward or given to
contortions, I cringe, or twist my legs until I have to stop
writing to undo the knot. I bow with him, eat with him, and
gnaw my moustache with him. If the character be a lady
with an exquisite laugh, I suddenly terrify you by laughing
exquisitely. One reads of the astounding versatility of an
actor who is stout and lean on the same evening, but what
is he to the novelist who is a dozen persons within the
hour?—J. M. Barrie, Margaret Ogilvy.
There are writers who can plan out their story beforehand
as clearly as though it were a railway journey, and adhere
throughout to their original design—they draw up what
playwrights call a scenario—but I was never one of those.
I spend a great deal of time indeed in looking for the best
road in the map and mark it with red ink, but at the first
bypath off my characters go. “Come back,” I cry, “you are
off the road.” “We prefer this way,” they reply. I try bullying.
“You are only people in a book,” I shout, “and it is my
book, and I can do what I like with you, so come back!”
But they seldom come, and it ends with my plodding after
them.—J. M. Barrie, Introduction to When a Man’s
Single.
The chief features of Barrie’s style are a quaintness of
expression, a simple directness of narrative, and an
unfailing sense of humor—often as though the author
were chuckling to himself as he wrote. His gift for
descriptive writing—probably the best test of “style”—is
very marked, though he makes little of it.—J. A.
Hammerton, J. M. Barrie and His Books.
Auld Licht Idylls is a set of regular descriptions of the life
of “Thrums,” with special reference to the ways and
character of the “Old Lights,” the stubborn conservative
Scotch Puritans; it contains also a most amusing and
characteristic love story of the sect (“The Courting of
T’Nowhead’s Bell”), and a satiric political skit.—Charles
Dudley Warner’s Library of the World’s Best Literature.
By the time “Auld Licht Idylls” appeared, he had achieved
a reputation,—at least a local one. This book had an
immediate success, and ran rapidly through several
editions. His mother had been an Auld Licht in her
youth.... Mrs. Barrie, knowing them from the inside, could
tell all sorts of quaint and marvellous tales about them,
whose humor was sure to please. It was from her stories
that the Idylls were mainly drawn, so she was in a sense a
collaborator with her son in their production.—Hattie T.
Griswold, Personal Sketches of Recent Authors.
As a literary artist he belongs in the foremost rank. He has
that sense of the typical in incident, of the universal in
feeling, and of the suggestive in language, which mark the
chiefs of letters. No one can express an idea with fewer
strokes; he never expands a sufficient hint into an essay.
His management of the Scotch dialect is masterly: he
uses it sparingly, in the nearest form to English compatible
with retaining the flavor; he never makes it so hard as to
interfere with enjoyment; in few dialect writers do we feel
so little alienness.—Charles Dudley Warner’s Library
of the World’s Best Literature.

FURTHER REFERENCES FOR READING ON


BARRIE
My Contemporaries in Fiction, by J. D. C. Murray (1897); Theology
of Modern Literature, by S. Law Wilson (1899); Fame and Fiction, by
E. A. Bennett (1901); J. M. Barrie and His Books, by J. A.
Hammerton (1902).

FOR ANALYSIS

THE COURTING OF T’NOWHEAD’S BELL


BY JAMES MATTHEW BARRIE

For two years it had been notorious in the square that Sam’l
Dickie was thinking of courting T’Nowhead’s Bell, and that if
little Sanders Elshioner (which is the Thrums pronunciation of
Alexander Alexander) went in for her he might prove a
formidable rival. Sam’l was a weaver in the Tenements, and
Sanders a coal-carter whose trade-mark was a bell on his
horse’s neck that told when coals were coming. Being
something of a public man, Sanders had not so high a social
position as Sam’l, but he had succeeded his father on the
coal-cart, while the weaver had already tried several trades. It
had always been against Sam’l, too, that once when the kirk
was vacant he had advised the selection of the third minister
who preached for it on the ground that it came expensive to
pay a large number of candidates. The scandal of the thing
was hushed up, out of respect for his father, who was a God-
fearing man, but Sam’l was known by it in Lang Tammas’
circle. The coal-carter was called Little Sanders to distinguish
him from his father, who was not much more than half his
size. He had grown up with the name, and its inapplicability
now came home to nobody. Sam’l’s mother had been more
far-seeing than Sanders’. Her man had been called Sammy
all his life because it was the name he got as a boy, so when
their eldest son was born she spoke of him as Sam’l while still
in his cradle. The neighbours imitated her, and thus the young
man had a better start in life than had been granted to
Sammy, his father.
2. It was Saturday evening—the night in the week when Auld
Licht young men fell in love. Sam’l Dickie, wearing a blue
glengarry bonnet with a red ball on the top, came to the door
of a one-story house in the Tenements and stood there
wriggling, for he was in a suit of tweeds for the first time that
week, and did not feel at one in them. When his feeling of
being a stranger to himself wore off, he looked up and down
the road, which straggles between houses and gardens, and
then, picking his way over the puddles, crossed to his father’s
henhouse and sat down on it. He was now on his way to the
square.
3. Eppie Fargus was sitting on an adjoining dike knitting
stockings, and Sam’l looked at her for a time.
4. “Is’t yersel, Eppie?” he said at last.
5. “It’s a’ that,” said Eppie.
6. “Hoo’s a’ wi’ ye?” asked Sam’l.
7. “We’re juist aff an’ on,” replied Eppie cautiously.
8. There was not much more to say, but as Sam’l sidled off
the henhouse he murmured politely, “Ay, ay.” In another
minute he would have been fairly started, but Eppie resumed
the conversation.
9. “Sam’l,” she said, with a twinkle in her eye, “ye can tell
Lisbeth Fargus I’ll likely be drappin’ in on her aboot Munday
or Teisday.”
10. Lisbeth was sister to Eppie, and wife of Tammas
McQuhatty, better known as T’Nowhead, which was the name
of his farm. She was thus Bell’s mistress.
11. Sam’l leaned against the henhouse as if all his desire to
depart had gone.
12. “Hoo d’ye kin I’ll be at the T’Nowhead the nicht?” he
asked, grinning in anticipation.
13. “Ou, I’se warrant ye’ll be after Bell,” said Eppie.
14. “Am no sure o’ that,” said Sam’l, trying to leer. He was
enjoying himself now.
15. “Am no sure o’ that,” he repeated, for Eppie seemed lost
in stitches.
16. “Sam’l—”
17. “Ay.”
18. “Ye’ll be spierin’ her sune noo, I dinna Asking her.
doot?”
19. This took Sam’l, who had only been courting Bell for a
year or two, a little aback.
20. “Hoo d’ye mean, Eppie?” he asked.
21. “Maybe ye’ll do’t the nicht.”
22. “Na, there’s nae hurry,” said Sam’l.
23. “Weel, we’re a’ coontin’ on’t, Sam’l.”
24. “Gae wa wi’ ye.”
25. “What for no?”
26. “Gae wa wi’ ye,” said Sam’l again.
27. “Bell’s gie an’ fond o’ ye, Sam’l.”
28. “Ay,” said Sam’l.
29. “But am dootin’ ye’re a fell billy wi’ the lasses.”
30. “Ay, oh, I d’na kin, moderate, moderate,” said Sam’l, in
high delight.
31. “I saw ye,” said Eppie, speaking with a wire in her mouth,
“gaein’ on terr’ble wi’ Mysy Haggart at the pump last
Saturday.”
32. “We was juist amoosin’ oorsels,” said Sam’l.
33. “It’ll be nae amoosement to Mysy,” said Eppie, “gin ye
brak her heart.”
34. “Losh, Eppie,” said Sam’l, “I didna think o’ that.”
35. “Ye maun kin weel, Sam’l, 'at there’s mony a lass wid
jump at ye.”
36. “Ou, weel,” said Sam’l, implying that a man must take
these things as they come.
37. “For ye’re a dainty chield to look at, Sam’l.”
38. “Do ye think so, Eppie? Ay, ay; oh, I d’na kin am onything
by the ordinar.”
39. “Ye mayna be,” said Eppie, “but lasses doesna do to be
ower partikler.”
40. Sam’l resented this, and prepared to depart again.
41. “Ye’ll no tell Bell that?” he asked anxiously.
42. “Tell her what?”
43. “Aboot me an’ Mysy.”
44. “We’ll see hoo ye behave yersel, Sam’l.”
45. “No 'at I care, Eppie; ye can tell her gin ye like. I widna
think twice o’ tellin’ her mysel.”
46. “The Lord forgie ye for leein’, Sam’l,” said Eppie, as he
disappeared down Tammy Tosh’s close. Alley, or court.
Here he came upon Henders Webster.
47. “Ye’re late, Sam’l,” said Henders.
48. “What for?”
49. “Ou, I was thinkin’ ye wid be gaen the length o’
T’Nowhead the nicht, an’ I saw Sanders Elshioner makkin’s
wy there an oor syne.”
50. “Did ye?” cried Sam’l, adding craftily, “but it’s naething to
me.”
51. “Tod, lad,” said Henders, “gin ye dinna buckle to,
Sanders’ll be carryin’ her off.”
52. Sam’l flung back his head and passed on.
53. “Sam’l!” cried Henders after him.
54. “Ay,” said Sam’l, wheeling round.
55. “Gie Bell a kiss frae me.”
56. The full force of this joke struck neither all at once. Sam’l
began to smile at it as he turned down the school-wynd, and it
came upon Henders while he was in his garden feeding his
ferret. Then he slapped his legs gleefully, and explained the
conceit to Will’um Byars, who went into the house and
thought it over.
57. There were twelve or twenty little groups of men in the
square, which was lit by a flare of oil suspended over a
cadger’s cart. Now and again a staid young woman passed
through the square with a basket on her arm, and if she had
lingered long enough to give them time, some of the idlers
would have addressed her. As it was, they gazed after her,
and then grinned to each other.
58. “Ay, Sam’l,” said two or three young men as Sam’l joined
them beneath the town clock.
59. “Ay, Davit,” replied Sam’l.
60. This group was composed of some of the sharpest wits in
Thrums, and it was not to be expected that they would let this
opportunity pass. Perhaps when Sam’l joined them he knew
what was in store for him.
61. “Was ye lookin’ for T’Nowhead’s Bell, Sam’l?” asked one.
62. “Or mebbe ye was wantin’ the minister?” suggested
another, the same who had walked out twice with Christy Duff
and not married her after all.
63. Sam’l could not think of a good reply at the moment, so he
laughed good-naturedly.
64. “Ondoobtedly she’s a snod bit crittur,” said Davit archly.
65. “An’ michty clever wi’ her fingers,” added Jamie Deuchars.
66. “Man, I’ve thocht o’ makkin’ up to Bell mysel,” said Peter
Ogle. “Wid there be ony chance, think ye, Sam’l?”
67. “I’m thinkin’ she widna hae ye for her first, Pete,” replied
Sam’l, in one of those happy flashes that come to some men,
“but there’s nae sayin’ but what she micht tak ye to finish up
wi’.”
68. The unexpectedness of this sally startled everyone.
Though Sam’l did not set up for a wit, however, like Davit, it
was notorious that he could say a cutting thing once in a way.
69. “Did ye ever see Bell reddin’ up?” asked Pete, recovering
from his overthrow. He was a man who bore no malice.
70. “It’s a sicht,” said Sam’l solemnly.
71. “Hoo will that be?” asked Jamie Deuchars.
72. “It’s well worth yer while,” said Pete, “to ging atower to the
T’Nowhead an’ see. Ye’ll mind the closed-in beds i’ the
kitchen? Ay, well, they’re a fell spoilt crew, T’Nowhead’s litlins,
an’ no that aisy to manage. Th’ither lasses Little ones.
Lisbeth’s hae’n had a michty trouble wi’
them. When they war i’ the middle o’ their reddin’ up the
bairns wid come tumlin’ about the floor, but, sal, I assure ye,
Bell didna fash lang wi’ them. Did she, Sam’l?”
73. “She did not,” said Sam’l, dropping into a fine mode of
speech to add emphasis to his remark.
74. “I’ll tell ye what she did,” said Pete to the others. “She juist
lifted up the litlins, twa at a time, an’ flung them into the coffin-
beds. Syne she snibbit the doors on them, an’ keepit them
there till the floor was dry.”
75. “Ay, man, did she so?” said Davit admiringly.
76. “I’ve seen her do’t mysel,” said Sam’l.
77. “There’s no a lassie makes better bannocks this side o’
Fetter Lums,” continued Pete.
78. “Her mither tocht her that,” said Sam’l; “she was a gran’
han’ at the bakin’, Kitty Ogilvy.”
79. “I’ve heard say,” remarked Jamie, putting it this way, so as
not to tie himself down to anything, “'at Bell’s scones is equal
to Mag Lunan’s.”
80. “So they are,” said Sam’l, almost fiercely.
81. “I kin she’s a neat han’ at singein’ a hen,” said Pete.
82. “An’ wi’t a’,” said Davit, “she’s a snod, canty bit stocky in
her Sabbath claes.”
83. “If onything, thick in the waist,” suggested Jamie.
84. “I dinna see that,” said Sam’l.
85. “I d’na care for her hair either,” continued Jamie, who was
very nice in his tastes; “something mair yallowchy wid be an
improvement.”
86. “A’body kins,” growled Sam’l, “'at black hair’s the
bonniest.”
87. The others chuckled.
88. “Puir Sam’l!” Pete said.
89. Sam’l not being certain whether this should be received
with a smile or a frown, opened his mouth wide as a kind of
compromise. This was position one with him for thinking
things over.
90. Few Auld Lichts, as I have said, went the length of
choosing a helpmate for themselves. One day a young man’s
friends would see him mending the washing-tub of a maiden’s
mother. They kept the joke until Saturday night, and then he
learned from them what he had been after. It dazed him for a
time, but in a year or so he grew accustomed to the idea, and
they were then married. With a little help he fell in love just
like other people.
91. Sam’l was going the way of the others, but he found it
difficult to come to the point. He only went courting once a
week, and he could never take up the running at the place
where he left off the Saturday before. Thus he had not, so far,
made great headway. His method of making up to Bell had
been to drop in at T’Nowhead on Saturday nights and talk
with the farmer about the rinderpest.
92. The farm kitchen was Bell’s testimonial. Its chairs, tables,
and stools were scoured by her to the whiteness of Rob
Angus’s sawmill boards, and the muslin blind on the window
was starched like a child’s pinafore. Bell was brave, too, as
well as energetic. Once Thrums had been overrun with
thieves. It is now thought that there may have been only one,
but he had the wicked cleverness of a gang. Such was his
repute that there were weavers who spoke of locking their
doors when they went from home. He was not very skilful,
however, being generally caught, and when they said they
knew he was a robber he gave them their things back and
went away. If they had given him time there is no doubt that
he would have gone off with his plunder. One night he went to
T’Nowhead, and Bell, who slept in the kitchen, was wakened
by the noise. She knew who it would be, so she rose and
dressed herself and went to look for him with a candle. The
thief had not known what to do when he got in, and as it was
very lonely he was glad to see Bell. She told him he ought to
be ashamed of himself, and would not let him out by the door
until he had taken off his boots so as not to soil the carpet.
93. On this Saturday evening Sam’l stood his ground in the
square, until by and by he found himself alone. There were
other groups there still, but his circle had melted away. They
went separately, and no one said good-night. Each took
himself off slowly, backing out of the group until he was fairly
started.
94. Sam’l looked about him, and then, seeing that the others
had gone, walked round the townhouse into the darkness of
the brae that leads down and then up to the farm of
T’Nowhead.
95. To get into the good graces of Lisbeth Fargus you had to
know her ways and humour them. Sam’l, who was a student
of women, knew this, and so, instead of pushing the door
open and walking in, he went through the rather ridiculous
ceremony of knocking. Sanders Elshioner was also aware of
this weakness of Lisbeth’s, but, though he often made up his
mind to knock, the absurdity of the thing prevented his doing
so when he reached the door. T’Nowhead himself had never
got used to his wife’s refined notions, and when any one
knocked he always started to his feet, thinking there must be
something wrong.
96. Lisbeth came to the door, her expansive figure blocking
the way in.
97. “Sam’l,” she said.
98. “Lisbeth,” said Sam’l.
99. He shook hands with the farmer’s wife, knowing that she
liked it, but only said, “Ay, Bell,” to his sweetheart, “Ay,
T’Nowhead,” to McQuhatty, and “It’s yersel, Sanders,” to his
rival.
100. They were sitting round the fire, T’Nowhead, with his feet
on the ribs, wondering why he felt so warm, and Bell darned a
stocking, while Lisbeth kept an eye on a goblet full of
potatoes.
101. “Sit into the fire, Sam’l,” said the farmer, not, however,
making way for him.
102. “Na, na,” said Sam’l, “I’m to bide nae time.” Then he sat
into the fire. His face was turned away from Bell, and when
she spoke he answered her without looking round. Sam’l felt
a little anxious. Sanders Elshioner, who had one leg shorter
than the other, but looked well when sitting, seemed
suspiciously at home. He asked Bell questions out of his own
head, which was beyond Sam’l, and once he said something
to her in such a low voice that the others could not catch it.
T’Nowhead asked curiously what it was, and Sanders
explained that he had only said, “Ay, Bell, the morn’s the
Sabbath.” There was nothing startling in this, but Sam’l did
not like it. He began to wonder if he was too late, and had he
seen his opportunity would have told Bell of a nasty rumour
that Sanders intended to go over to the Free Church if they
would make him kirk-officer.
103. Sam’l had the good-will of T’Nowhead’s wife, who liked a
polite man. Sanders did his best, but from want of practice he
constantly made mistakes. To-night, for instance, he wore his
hat in the house because he did not like to put up his hand
and take it off. T’Nowhead had not taken his off either but that
was because he meant to go out by and by and lock the byre
door. It was impossible to say which of her lovers Bell
preferred. The proper course with an Auld Licht lassie was to
prefer the man who proposed to her.
104. “Ye’ll bide a wee, an’ hae something to eat?” Lisbeth
asked Sam’l, with her eyes on the goblet.
105. “No, I thank ye,” said Sam’l, with true gentility.
106. “Ye’ll better?”
107. “I dinna think it.”
108. “Hoots aye; what’s to hender ye?”
109. “Weel, since ye’re sae pressin’, I’ll bide.”
110. No one asked Sanders to stay. Bell could not, for she
was but the servant, and T’Nowhead knew that the kick his
wife had given him meant that he was not to do so either.
Sanders whistled to show that he was not uncomfortable.
111. “Ay then, I’ll be stappin’ ower the brae,” he said at last.
112. He did not go, however. There was sufficient pride in him
to get him off his chair, but only slowly, for he had to get
accustomed to the notion of going. At intervals of two or three
minutes he remarked that he must now be going. In the same
circumstances Sam’l would have acted similarly. For a
Thrums man it is one of the hardest things in life to get away
from anywhere.
113. At last Lisbeth saw that something must be done. The
potatoes were burning, and T’Nowhead had an invitation on
his tongue.
114. “Yes, I’ll hae to be movin’,” said Sanders, hopelessly, for
the fifth time.
115. “Guid nicht to ye, then, Sanders,” said Lisbeth. “Gie the
door a fling-to, ahent ye.”
116. Sanders, with a mighty effort, pulled himself together. He
looked boldly at Bell, and then took off his hat carefully. Sam’l
saw with misgivings that there was something in it which was
not a handkerchief. It was a paper bag glittering with gold
braid, and contained such an assortment of sweets as lads
bought for their lasses on the Muckle Friday.
117. “Hae, Bell,” said Sanders, handing the bag to Bell in an
off-hand way as if it were but a trifle. Nevertheless he was a
little excited, for he went off without saying good-night.
118. No one spoke. Bell’s face was crimson. T’Nowhead
fidgeted on his chair, and Lisbeth looked at Sam’l. The
weaver was strangely calm and collected, though he would
have liked to know whether this was a proposal.
119. “Sit in by to the table, Sam’l,” said Lisbeth, trying to look
as if things were as they had been before.
120. She put a saucerful of butter, salt, and pepper near the
fire to melt, for melted butter is the shoeing-horn that helps
over a meal of potatoes. Sam’l, however, saw what the hour
required, and jumping up, he seized his bonnet.
121. “Hing the tatties higher up the joist, Lisbeth,” he said with
dignity; “I’se be back in ten meenits.”
122. He hurried out of the house, leaving the others looking at
each other.
123. “What do ye think?” asked Lisbeth.
124. “I d’na kin,” faltered Bell.
125. “Thae tatties is lang o’ comin’ to the boil,” said
T’Nowhead.
126. In some circles a lover who behaved like Sam’l would
have been suspected of intent upon his rival’s life, but neither
Bell nor Lisbeth did the weaver that injustice. In a case of this
kind it does not much matter what T’Nowhead thought.
127. The ten minutes had barely passed when Sam’l was
back in the farm kitchen. He was too flurried to knock this
time, and, indeed, Lisbeth did not expect it of him.
128. “Bell, hae!” he cried, handing his sweetheart a tinsel bag
twice the size of Sander’s gift.
129. “Losh preserve’s!” exclaimed Lisbeth; “I’se warrant
there’s a shillin’s worth.”
130. “There’s a’ that, Lisbeth—an’ mair,” said Sam’l, firmly.
131. “I thank ye, Sam’l,” said Bell, feeling an unwonted elation
as she gazed at the two paper bags in her lap.
132. “Ye’re ower extravegint, Sam’l,” Lisbeth said.
133. “Not at all,” said Sam’l; “not at all. But I widna advise ye
to eat thae ither anes, Bell—they’re second quality.”
134. Bell drew back a step from Sam’l.
135. “How do ye kin?” asked the farmer shortly, for he liked
Sanders.
136. “I spiered i’ the shop,” said Sam’l.
137. The goblet was placed on a broken plate on the table
with the saucer beside it, and Sam’l, like the others, helped
himself. What he did was to take potatoes from the pot with
his fingers, peel off their coats, and then dip them into the
butter. Lisbeth would have liked to provide knives and forks,
but she knew that beyond a certain point T’Nowhead was
master in his own house. As for Sam’l, he felt victory in his
hands, and began to think that he had gone too far.
138. In the meantime Sanders, little witting that Sam’l had
trumped his trick, was sauntering along the kirk-wynd with his
hat on the side of his head. Fortunately he did not meet the
minister.
139. The courting of T’Nowhead’s Bell reached its crisis one
Sabbath about a month after the events above recorded. The
minister was in great force that day, but it is no part of mine to
tell how he bore himself. I was there, and am not likely to
forget the scene. It was a fateful Sabbath for T’Nowhead’s
Bell and her swains, and destined to be remembered for the
painful scandal which they perpetrated in their passion.
140. Bell was not in the kirk. There being an infant of six
months in the house it was a question of either Lisbeth or the
lassie’s staying at home with him, and though Lisbeth was
unselfish in a general way, she could not resist the delight of
going to church. She had nine children besides the baby, and
being but a woman, it was the pride of her life to march them
into the T’Nowhead pew, so well watched that they dared not
misbehave, and so tightly packed that they could not fall. The
congregation looked at that pew, the mothers enviously, when
they sang the lines—

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