Finding a New Pacer Aircraft Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Abstract

After the decommissioning of the F-4F Phantom (tail number 38+13) in 2013, the need for a new reference aircraft for static pressure measurements arose at the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Aircraft and Aeronautical Equipment (WTD 61). To identify an aircraft type which is suitable for calibration and use as future static pressure reference, a list of all aircraft types used by the German forces and civil partners was compiled in a first step. Based on that list an assessment of the available alternatives was conducted using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, which is a Multi Criteria Decision Making method based on pairwise comparisons. This paper addresses the selection and weighting process of the criteria which are used for this task. Furthermore, an outlook upon the further evaluation steps is provided.