At the 2010 Farnborough air show, Airbus revealed concept photos of its vision of what a passenger jet might look like in 2050.
Now, as the Paris Air Show approaches - it opens on 20 June - the futurists at Airbus have turned their attention to inflight entertainment and the cabin experience for passengers in such jets. And a pretty wacky look-ahead it is too.
(Image: Airbus - Click Image to Enlarge)
The "biomimetic" frame of the Airbus Concept Plane, as it is known, is inspired by the super-lightweight bones of birds - though the company isn't quite sure yet what it might make this bone-inspired material from. Airbus cabin designer Tobias Mayer says it could be a 3D-printed - and largely hollow - titanium based material that the firm's parent, EADS, is becoming adept at manufacturing at its Additive Layer Manufacturing lab in Filton, UK.
With a criss-cross structure it will supposedly allow some kind of bird-strike-resistant dimmable glass to be used as the exterior skin - giving passengers the astonishing ability to see everything outside.
(Image: Airbus - Click Image to Enlarge)
Airbus envisages its plane having many different zones - because by 2050 budget air travel will have been abolished (along with economy seats) - and there'll be no more squeezing-as- many-seats-in-as-possible. Of course, says Airbus thrillingly in its pre-Paris statement.
"Passengers in 2050 could join an interactive conference, enjoy a game of virtual golf, or read the kids back home a bedtime story whilst watching the planet spread out beneath their feet."
(Image: Airbus - Click Image to Enlarge)
It doesn't end there. Morphing seats will sense the tension in your body using an intelligent neural network, allowing the seat to morph and conform to your body shape - and no matter how obese the population gets by 2050, these seats will be able to cope, Airbus promises. You'll get "vitamin and antioxidant-enriched air, mood lighting, aromatherapy and acupressure treatments". Has no-one told them antioxidant supplements have been debunked?
(Image: Airbus - Click Image to Enlarge)
COMMENTARY: I think I would be an incredible experience flying through the skies in a plane with a see-thru canopy as part of the cabin. The airticle didn't show pictures of the Airbus Concept Plan for 2050, but I found a video on YouTube and it's even more impressive. Enjoy.
Here's a YouTube video of the Paris Air Show showing the new Russian Sukhoi SuperJet 100, a mid-size passenger jet now in operation, and the first passenger commercial jet designed to compete with Boeing and Airbus outside of Russia.
Courtesy of an article dated June 13, 2011 appearing in NewScientist
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