International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
Vol. 14 No. 4, 2004
pp. 411-412

Early in 2001, when the idea of a Special Aerospace Issue was first conceived, the Airbus A3XX had just officially become the A380 and the possibility of a new supersonic transport, possibly to be built in collaboration with Boeing, was also under discussion. The civil aircraft industry looked set for expansion in the new millennium, and in the space sector there was even talk of a manned mission to Mars. Here in the UK, the Association of Aerospace Universities had just been formed to harness the enthusiasm of the younger generation and to ensure that the experience of those of us who were a little older was passed on. This issue now comes to print when it is perhaps even more important that the scientific community strives towards the goal of safe and efficient air transport and does not lose the longer term vision of man s eventual exploration of the planets.

After decades of trying to take subsonic civil aviation closer and closer to Mach 1, the advent of the mass market in air travel eventually led to a reduction in speed and a much greater emphasis on fuel economy and efficiency. Currently, researchers in the field of transonic aerodynamics are trying to achieve the best of both worlds by addressing the subject of active shockwave control. The first two papers deal with this issue in slightly different ways. The paper by Djayapertapa...