The Future of Passenger Planes
#1
The Future of Passenger Planes
Pretty cool:
Get ready for the next generation of passenger airplanes.
NASA has taken the wraps off three concept designs for quiet, energy efficient aircraft that could potentially be ready to fly as soon as 2025, joining these planes of the future (and these). The designs come from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and The Boeing Company. In the final months of 2010, each of these companies won a contract from NASA to research and test their concepts during 2011.
According to NASA: "[E]ach design has to fly up to 85 percent of the speed of sound; cover a range of approximately 7,000 miles; and carry between 50,000 and 100,000 pounds of payload, either passengers or cargo. For the rest of this year, each team will be exploring, testing, simulating, keeping and discarding innovations and technologies to make their design a winner."
Apparently, NASA is aiming to develop a line of super-planes that larger, faster, quieter, and that burn fuel slower and cleaner than their present counterparts.
Check out the three concept planes (below), then have a look at our slideshow of more incredible planes from the future.
Northrop Grumman Concept
Boeing Concept
Lockheed Martin Concept
IN PHOTOS: See more incredible photos of planes of the future.
NASA has taken the wraps off three concept designs for quiet, energy efficient aircraft that could potentially be ready to fly as soon as 2025, joining these planes of the future (and these). The designs come from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and The Boeing Company. In the final months of 2010, each of these companies won a contract from NASA to research and test their concepts during 2011.
According to NASA: "[E]ach design has to fly up to 85 percent of the speed of sound; cover a range of approximately 7,000 miles; and carry between 50,000 and 100,000 pounds of payload, either passengers or cargo. For the rest of this year, each team will be exploring, testing, simulating, keeping and discarding innovations and technologies to make their design a winner."
Apparently, NASA is aiming to develop a line of super-planes that larger, faster, quieter, and that burn fuel slower and cleaner than their present counterparts.
Check out the three concept planes (below), then have a look at our slideshow of more incredible planes from the future.
Northrop Grumman Concept
Boeing Concept
Lockheed Martin Concept
IN PHOTOS: See more incredible photos of planes of the future.
#2
The Lockheed concept is the only one that would probably be able to use the current airline terminals. I like the Grumman design because it looks like just about everyone would be guaranteed a window seat.
#9
Antonov has a pretty awesome implementation of a similar concept:
YouTube - Antonov 70, Aviasvit 2008