RDS-Pro and RDS-Student Comparison

QUESTION: What are the differences between RDS-Student and RDS-Professional?

ANSWER: RDS-Professional and RDS-Student are related versions of Dan Raymer's aircraft design and analysis software, targeted to different audiences. RDS-Pro is intended for serious professionals in the aircraft design business who work in industry, government, or academia to develop and analyze new aircraft concepts. RDS-Student is a tool for students so that they don't waste all the time in their senior design class trying to do the analysis and sizing. They should be learning the overall design process, not struggling to get through the calculations in the 15 or so weeks of a class.

RDS-Student and RDS-Professional were developed together, and are compiled from the same 30,000+ lines of source code. When RDS-Student is compiled, many features are skipped by a compiler meta-command, which also makes certain changes that affect accuracy of results. Differences are listed below. By the way, it is not possible for a hacker to "turn on" the features that are left out of RDS-Student. The affected code is literally not there. Note that data between the two versions is upward compatible - if you develop data files in RDS-Student you can read those into RDS-Pro, but not the other way around

One of the most important differences between the two versions is the license agreement. RDS-Student is priced as charity to engineering students, and its license agreement specifically excludes its being used for anything other than education (self-education by working engineers is OK). The pricing of RDS-Student is too low to justify its continued development and enhancement. So, if you are a professional user then please - get the RDS-Pro installation. Besides, it is a much more powerful program.

Differences between RDS-Pro and RDS-Student:

RDS-Pro allows breaking missions into small step sizes so that its sizing, range, and climb calculations are more accurate.
RDS-Pro finds optimal cruise and loiter conditions during sizing and range analysis (user inputs zero for speed and/or altitude), and finds optimal climb speeds between input start and ending conditions. There is a user-defined stall margin for these determinations.
RDS-Pro includes automatic sizing trade studies that quickly graph the design weight impact of parametric variations in parasite drag, drag due to lift, specific fuel consumption, dead weight, payload weight, and range. Results can then be replotted with cost as the measure of merit.
RDS-Pro includes Carpet Plots that allow graphical two-variable optimization of the design including performance constraint curves for requirements such as takeoff distance and turn rate.
The RDS-Pro Multidisciplinary Design Optimizer (MDO) simultaneously optimizes for eight key variables: T/W, W/S, aspect ratio, sweep, taper ratio, wing thickness, fuselage fineness ratio, and wing design lift coefficient (camber, in effect). Optimizations can use any selected measure of merit including gross weight, empty weight, fuel weight, purchase price, life cycle cost, net present value, and internal rate of return.
RDS-Pro has a unique automatic design scaling capability that scales your design CAD file to the new sized takeoff gross weight. This includes resizing wings and tails, stretching the fuselage, resizing the tires and gear struts, and other changes. RDS can also revise the design to its MDO optimization results, revising wing and tail geometries, updating the fuselage fineness ratio, etc... For the methods employed, see Raymer's recent AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting presentation Automatic Aircraft Configuration Redesign from MDO Results.
RDS-Pro permits input and use of jet engine part-power SFC data. In RDS-Student you can only use either the SFC as input, or an approximate part-power adjustment equation.
RDS-Pro allows you to define performance calculations using the aircraft weight calculated at a particular point in the sizing calculation (say, at the end of the initial cruise). In RDS-Student you have to input the desired weight or weight fraction.
RDS-Pro allows creation and use of alternative atmosphere models, and a number of them are provided (ISO+10, etc.)
RDS-Pro allows input of airspeeds as true or calibrated. RDS-Student only allows TAS. RDS-Pro also includes the effects of winds on range and sizing calculations.
RDS-Pro has graph data export capability so that your RDS results can be read into a dedicated graphing program or into Excel, if you don't think RDS graphs are pretty enough.
RDS-Pro has analysis results data export capability for interface to dynamic simulations and similar programs.
RDS-Pro allows changing many of the constants used in the analysis to fine-tune the program to an expert's preferences. In RDS-Student, the defaults are always used.
RDS-Pro provides automatic takeoff and landing graphs showing the variation of distance with aircraft weight.
RDS-Pro automatically calculates the empty weight sizing exponent ("C") for your design. In RDS-Student you have to use a historical value. RDS-Pro also lets you instantly revise all weights analysis inputs to a new TOGW for what-if studies.
RDS-Pro lets you input and use your own Leading Edge Suction Schedule rather than rely upon the schedules coded in RDS. This is to accommodate companies that use their own “approved” suction schedule for aerodynamic analysis.
The RDS-Pro cost module automatically graphs the learning curve effect on production cost and the effect of fuel cost on operating costs.
The RDS-Pro Design Layout Module has many added capabilities. It allows "Instances" which are component duplicates at different locations. It can scale an entire design instantly to a new TOGW, following the same logic as the sizing scaling described above.
The RDS-Pro DLM allows creation and use of standard NACA airfoils, and the input of other airfoils from data tables such as seen in classic textbooks and from various online sources. It includes a special form of cross section stretching that allows stretching only the front or back of an airfoil, up to the point of maximum thickness. This is useful for creating strakes and trailing edge kicks so that they do not modify the sweep of the wing maximum thickness line.
The RDS-Pro DLM permits export of design data in standard DXF format, as a RhinoCAD script, and as an input file for the VSAERO aerodynamics program (product of Analytical Methods Inc. and not included in the RDS installation).

RDS-Professional can be obtained only from Conceptual Research Corp. RDS-Student, whose license is strictly limited to student use, can be obtained directly from AIAA or at Amazon.com. It can be bought separately or bundled with Raymer's textbook Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach.

The regular license agreement does not permit RDS-Student to be installed on a network or in a multi-user university "lab" setting. A university site license for RDS-Student can be obtained from AIAA. Some universities prefer to license a few copies of RDS-Pro and also receive an inputs-only version of RDS that can be freely given to students. This allows them to develop their design inputs on their own computers then load the files on the university's copies of RDS-Pro for analysis and optimization.