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Airbus unveils 'transparent plane'

Candlelight

Candlelight

Admiral
Admiral
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/5143021/Airbus-unveils-transparent-plane

With a see-through cabin, the aircraft of the future won't be for nervous flyers.
Plane manufacturer Airbus has looked 40 years into the futrue and unveiled concept designs for the aircraft of 2050.
The company's vision offers a revolution in air travel.
Gone are the regulated class divisions of First, Business and Economy, replaced by personalised zones that offer flexible, tailored levels of relaxation, interactivity and working spaces.
Passengers can choose to travel in the Interactive zone, with a bar and electronic games where they can mingle and socialise. And those wanting quiet and solitude can choose the Relaxation zone.
The fuselage is replaced by a bone-like structure that will allow for panoramic views outside the aircraft.
For nervous flyers wanting to cut themselves off from the window views, or those simply seeking privacy from other passengers, seats would become 'holographic pods' that would shut out the outside world.
Seats could also change in size and shape for the individual passenger.
Entertainment would move well beyond the seatback TV screen, with concepts for the Interactive zone including virtual holographic golf courses or virtual clothes shopping.
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Afterwards you can take your astro-dog for a space walk.
 
I wonder if the toilets are also going to be transparent? That would make the Mile High Club interesting. :vulcan:
 
Candlelight said:
Afterwards you can take your astro-dog for a space walk.
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That's an awesome looking plane. One of the great disappointments to me however over the past 20-30 years is generally we appear to have reached the limits of speed versus fuel economy. The Concorde was an abject failure as a faster alternative to quicker flights because of the cost.

The airline industry really hasn't made in significant advances since the introduction of the jet engine. A trip in 1965 from NY to Los Angeles was 5 hours then and it's still 50 years later 5 hours today. Sad really.
 
My idea of hell (and I've done A LOT of flying). On a trek geek front, roof ribs look curiously like ceiling of Ent D...
 
having aircraft going faster than the speed of sound over land is a bad idea, used to live a few miles from where the Blue Angels would practice for airshows and even at that distance they could set off car alarms
 
Sephiroth said:
having aircraft going faster than the speed of sound over land is a bad idea, used to live a few miles from where the Blue Angels would practice for airshows and even at that distance they could set off car alarms
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But why not over water? NY to London to could be with current technology a 2-3 hour flight instead of 5+.
 
DarthTom said:
The airline industry really hasn't made in significant advances since the introduction of the jet engine. A trip in 1965 from NY to Los Angeles was 5 hours then and it's still 50 years later 5 hours today. Sad really.
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There has actually been quite a lot of advancement in avionics, which theoretically improves safety.
 
Wow! You sure wouldn't have to fight to get to sit next to a window in that one...only I think I might get dizzy in it.
 
I've sort of come to conclusion that planes in 40 years will look pretty much as they do now. I mean, they haven't changed much in the past 40 years.
 
DarthTom said:
Sephiroth said:
having aircraft going faster than the speed of sound over land is a bad idea, used to live a few miles from where the Blue Angels would practice for airshows and even at that distance they could set off car alarms
Click to expand...

But why not over water? NY to London to could be with current technology a 2-3 hour flight instead of 5+.
Click to expand...

We had that with Concorde which could do the flight in around 3.5hours.
 
How would having no seats (which translates into no harness) work? Regardless of how advanced an airplane gets, it still hits turbulence on a regular basis. If you were standing upright without any harness or support when the plane hits bad turbulence, be prepared for anywhere between broken ankle/wrist and severe concussions.
 
Squiggy said:
I've sort of come to conclusion that planes in 40 years will look pretty much as they do now. I mean, they haven't changed much in the past 40 years.
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yeah, this smacks of those articles I used to read in Popular Mechanics when I was a kid, of weird-ass stuff that would never work IRL. Like the plane with three fuselages, side to side. :guffaw:

Or, to put it another way, it's a variation on this. An idealized vision of the future that will probably never actually happen.

In the end, there's simply no reason for planes to look like this. What works now, will always work. The sole function of planes is to get people from one place to another fast, via the skies. Anything that distracts from that, i.e. is done solely for show (like this 'invisible plane' surely is), is not going to be done.
 
Mr. Laser Beam said:
The sole function of planes is to get people from one place to another fast, via the skies.
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I wouldn't say the sole function. Fighter jets, cargo planes, single-engine trainers, and aerobatic craft all have very different purposes.
 
^ But the fact remains, those things are not done for show. That's all this is. It's a gimmick for the idle rich (assuming it could ever be actually built). The Concorde has proven that this is no longer viable.
 
And I thought the glare from the sun through a single window was bad. Thumbs down on this design. :(
 
Unfortunately Airbus' vision of getting rid of first class, business and economy doesn't match what the airlines want, which is to cram in as many seats as possible to maximize the amount they make on each flight. Airbus' vision directly conflicts with that.
 
I am afraid of heights (I always shut the windowshade if I ever find myself in a window seat) so I would probably die of shock if I was ever on a plane like this. :eek:
 
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