> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.idoptlab.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> Regional Air Mobility Design Operations — life cycle cost analysis for RAM vehicles

## 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.

***

## Key capabilities

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="40+ cost components" icon="calculator">
    Fixed costs (amortization, insurance, personnel, training) and variable costs (fuel, maintenance, overhaul, landing fees) broken down individually.
  </Card>

  <Card title="ODE-based simulation" icon="chart-line">
    Cumulative costs are integrated with a Runge-Kutta (RK45) solver over the full service life, giving year-by-year cost trajectories.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Revenue metrics" icon="dollar-sign">
    Computes Revenue CASM (cost per available seat-nautical mile) and required fare per passenger-nautical mile, accounting for repositioning (deadhead) flights.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Multi-aircraft comparison" icon="table">
    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.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## 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
```

***

## Authors

Developed by the Idopt Lab at Virginia Tech:

* Darshan Sarojini
* Antonio Trani
* Zhou Wang
* Grant Lee
* Krish Bhatt
* Dylan Hogge
* Aman Anwar

***

## Citation

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