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What is this?

ram-idopt is a Python library for life cycle cost (LCC) analysis of regional air mobility (RAM) vehicles. It models the full economics of operating an aircraft over its service life — from acquisition financing through fuel, maintenance, personnel, and overhaul — and produces revenue metrics (CASM, fare per passenger-mile) that let you compare vehicle configurations on an apples-to-apples basis. The model was developed at Virginia Tech and is grounded in the Trani et al. (2006) framework for nationwide impacts of very light jet traffic.

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Key capabilities

40+ cost components

Fixed costs (amortization, insurance, personnel, training) and variable costs (fuel, maintenance, overhaul, landing fees) broken down individually.

ODE-based simulation

Cumulative costs are integrated with a Runge-Kutta (RK45) solver over the full service life, giving year-by-year cost trajectories.

Revenue metrics

Computes Revenue CASM (cost per available seat-nautical mile) and required fare per passenger-nautical mile, accounting for repositioning (deadhead) flights.

Multi-aircraft comparison

Pass a list of Excel configuration files to get a ranked comparison table and three chart types: bar charts, cumulative cost lines, and cost-breakdown pies.

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Supported vehicle types

The model handles any fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft including:
  • Conventional turboprop / piston aircraft (crewed)
  • Electric VTOL (eVTOL) with battery replacement costs
  • Autonomous / pilotless aircraft — automation cost premium, adjusted insurance, zero pilot salaries
  • Hybrid configurations — partial automation, reduced crew counts

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Package structure

src/ram_idopt/
├── aircraft/
│   └── cost/
│       └── LCC.py          # Core life cycle cost model
├── operations/             # (planned) route and schedule analysis
├── visualization/          # (planned) extended plotting utilities
└── utils/                  # (planned) shared helpers

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Authors

Developed by the Idopt Lab at Virginia Tech:
  • Darshan Sarojini
  • Antonio Trani
  • Zhou Wang
  • Grant Lee
  • Krish Bhatt
  • Dylan Hogge
  • Aman Anwar

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Citation

Trani, A., et al. (2006). Nationwide Impacts of Very Light Jet Traffic in NGATS. Virginia Tech Air Transportation Systems Laboratory.