Engineers are exploring radical new designs for commercial planes

Post by kridsdale2 » Thu, Nov 10, 2022, 7:29 PM UTC

strongpigeon wrote: post #27

jcampbell1 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main argument against it is that it increases fuel consumption. Plowing your cargo area through the air sideways is just idiotic. There is some crazy public belief that it is more fuel efficient because the public doesn’t understand physics. These things keep getting getting publicity because even Hacker News folks don’t get it. Long high aspect ratio wings and streamlined body are how you get fuel efficiency. Th…

You seem knowledgeable about this. Do you mind expanding on why these aren’t more efficient?

Post by willcipriano » Thu, Nov 10, 2022, 7:32 PM UTC

horsawlarway wrote: post #28

blamazon wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My experience as a frequent flyer is that First Class is the most likely cabin to have all windows closed for 100% of the flight. It's baffling to me, people will even keep closed the window facing New York on the approach to LaGuardia which should be a crime. Also Boston, Salt Lake, Hawaii, and really pretty much all places except like Dallas and Cleveland types totally perplex me when the window is closed and I'm n…

I see this more and more everywhere across the plane these days. I remember flying as a kid/teen and nearly every window was open during takeoff and touchdown. Last 3 to 5 years and almost every flight has had less than 10% of the windows open. I don't get it - I also want to see it. We're fucking flying, for god's sake.

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Nov 10, 2022, 7:33 PM UTC

AlexandrB wrote: post #7

ramesh31 wrote: post #4

I remember seeing renderings precisely like this in my middle school textbooks in the 90s, claiming the same thing. The truth is that commercial airliners are a solved engineering problem. We are at the absolute limits for speed, reliability, and safety that can be achieved with a flying machine in the earth’s atmosphere. Which is why the fundamental layout has not changed since the 707 was introduced over 60 years a…

Yup, I've been seeing these futuristic airplane concepts for most of my life, but commercial airframes seem to be converging to be more and more similar. Unusual elements like a third engine in the tail or horizontal stabilizers mounted above the rudder have largely disappeared. Given the thin margins in air travel, I suspect this is because this design is the most successful. It might be a local minimum, but when it…

Post by aaronblohowiak » Thu, Nov 10, 2022, 7:34 PM UTC

chrisBob wrote: post #23

nicktelford wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A bigger problem with blended wing designs is actually for the people on the peripheral. When the plane banks, passengers further from the axis of rotation will feel a more significant change in their altitude. You literally feel like you're "falling", as the plane banks to your side. This also applies to existing aircraft, but the amount you drop/rise is limited by the your distance from the axis of rotation, which…

The issue isn't the bank angle exactly, it is the acceleration of the roll. Pilots will need to be careful not to throw people or drinks around, but I think it would be doable.

Post by dan_quixote » Thu, Nov 10, 2022, 7:34 PM UTC

chrisBob wrote: post #23

nicktelford wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A bigger problem with blended wing designs is actually for the people on the peripheral. When the plane banks, passengers further from the axis of rotation will feel a more significant change in their altitude. You literally feel like you're "falling", as the plane banks to your side. This also applies to existing aircraft, but the amount you drop/rise is limited by the your distance from the axis of rotation, which…

The issue isn't the bank angle exactly, it is the acceleration of the roll. Pilots will need to be careful not to throw people or drinks around, but I think it would be doable.