Airbus: The Futuristic Transparent Plane

[Radical Dreamer]

If this article is correct and all of the research works out, apparently we could be riding in these by 2050. XD How ridiculously sci-fi is this?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2003052/Airbus-unveil-transparent-plane-flying-come-2050.html

Discuss! XD

[Jingo Jaden]

I think I stumbled across the designer.

[Nami]

O_O

I'll be so old when this thing is done. I'll be like 50 or 60... O_O; Man...

[Ante Bellum]

I'll probably be dead by then.

On the other hand, this would be pretty neat, if expensive. I mean, really expensive. Unless such technology is not only available but also cheap by then.

[Agloval]

I don't know much about future tech forecasting, but colour me sceptical.

It's a nice idea, though.

[mechana2015]

I think this looks pretty awesome. I'm tired of looking out tiny windows when I fly.

[FllMtl Novelist]

Oodles of holographic technology: I'll believe it when I see it.

The panoramic views look beautiful at night, though.

I haven't flown in a modern airplane yet, so I have no idea whether I'd want to ride this. Probably. I'm going to be kinda old when this comes out, though... If it comes out when they say it will. :/

[Dante]

And here I was hoping for something useful from the aerospace industry. And as far as the 'mysterious transparent skin', why not just use what the Japanese already developed:

http://tachilab.org/modules/projects/transparentcockpit.html

Seriously if this is what I have to look forward to at 60 years old - I'll be deeply disappointed. Of course, perhaps they're considering that by 2050, the aerospace industry might by nigh on dead as people can actually transfer their consciousness around the world via the internet post-singularity >_>. Furthermore, by then, businesses will finally realize how much money they can save by just letting people work in a virtual office at home instead of buying out huge chunks of space in various buildings only to have to fly humans across the Earth to get there. By 2050, the only thing these planes will be useful for is getting people to their vacation destinations -- which might not be so fancy an idea if we destroy all the interesting environments worth going to.

[mechana2015]

I suspect that the news picked up on this because Airbus either didn't want to talk about engine and aerodynamic updates in the press conference, or those updates were ignored in the article in favor of the one that involved less math algorithms and more pretty pictures.

[shooraijin]

Two words: mass broiling.

[Darth_Kirby]

lol even if this comes true, I bet the ticket prices would be ridiculous.

[ADXC]

If this happens, we're all going to be elderly folk saying "What's up with this new-fangled contraption?!"


Which makes me also wonder, in like 50 years or so, are we all going to be skeptical to new technological advances or accept them?

[mechana2015]

Two words: mass broiling.

Hah! I was thinking abotu this... it is a giant greenhouse. Hopefully they'll have some sort of fantastic cooling system because... summer will be painful to [s]fry[/s] fly during if they don't figure that out.

[Yuki-Anne]

...this actually sounds really annoying.

*reading bedtime stories to your kids back home (and every other passenger)

*aromatherapy (massive headache for people who have a low tolerance for artificial scents)

*transparent (the sun is up the ENTIRE TIME you are flying from Japan to America. Enjoy 11 hours of sunshine when your body is saying it should be night-time, and the excitement of a panoramic view of... the ocean. And probably a lot of clouds.)

*virtual gaming (so you can work up a sweat and then go sit three feet away from someone. Your glorious stench will be available for your fellow passengers to bask in. Except the ones who turn up the aromatherapy. Because everybody wants to smell BO thinly veiled by lavender)

Honestly, this reminds me of all the "car of tomorrow" and "home of tomorrow" concepts from the 50's, which predicted such incredible advancements in tech by the year 1999, and... everything turned out completely differently. Like, technology advanced, but in completely different directions that most of the 50's folks never would have predicted.

So I'm betting that we'll only see about half of these things by 2050.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Oh god it's like I'm in MASS EFFECT OR SOMETHING.

[Kaori]

The design for this looks an awful lot like Tokyo’s Himiko water bus:

the sun is up the ENTIRE TIME you are flying from Japan to America

Funny, I was thinking about the same thing. My thought was that they would have to find some way to cover the windows or make them opaque for long international flights on which most people will be sleeping. Glasses that change their opacity in response to the amount UV light striking them have existed since the 1960s, so I don’]First, business and economy cabins are replaced by zones for relaxation in the front, work in the back, and a fully-stocked bar for socialising.[/quote]
I’m pretty sure that as long as airlines are able to make more profit by charging customers extra for luxury seating, they will.

I'll probably be dead by then.

You’re not planning on living to be 56?

[Nate]

A lot of people are scared of flying because of the height.

Clearly the solution is to make the plane even MORE see-through, thus making the sense of height even greater, causing people to become even more scared.

At least on current planes you can put a shutter over the window.

Whatever idiot thought up this design should be fired. Out of a cannon. Into a brick wall covered with graffiti telling them what an idiot they are.

[shooraijin]

You’re not planning on living to be 56?

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm fifty-six?

No, doesn't work as well.

[Ally-Ann]

If this happens, we're all going to be elderly folk saying "What's up with this new-fangled contraption?!"


Which makes me also wonder, in like 50 years or so, are we all going to be skeptical to new technological advances or accept them?

I know I'll accept them. I love technology. I have a ridiculous imagine, so I'd have no problem with it. This airbus thing sounds like something my brother or I would come up with, too.

[UniqueAngelStar]

Wow. This looks so amazing and beautiful. I may be pretty old when this is released, but still, I really want to ride this. It's like you really flying in the sky. But at someone pointed, this won't be fine for someone who is afraid of heights because they will get freaked out if they are in a scenery of clouds.

O_O

I'll be so old when this thing is done. I'll be like 50 or 60... O_O]

I know. The kids of the future generation will be soo lucky to experience this.

I'll probably be dead by then.

On the other hand, this would be pretty neat, if expensive. I mean, really expensive. Unless such technology is not only available but also cheap by then.

lol even if this comes true, I bet the ticket prices would be ridiculous.

That's what I'm afraid of. If something technological new is created, it will be expensive most likely due to lots of resources and time to make this

I think this looks pretty awesome. I'm tired of looking out tiny windows when I fly.

That's why I want to ride this in the future. I love seeing outside of the windows. But then other planes like the Airbus would see that you are inside.

[QtheQreater]

I'd hate it. I mean, I like looking out the window, but unless they managed to implement a lot of privacy technology, such as sound barriers and limited range viewing of the holographic stuff from the seat in front of me, I'd never relax. Too much busy, loud, flashy, people wandering around, small children running up and down the aisles...

I freak out enough in the commotion before getting into the plane. Ugh.

The skin idea sounds a bit far-fetched. But hey, we have more complicated communicators than the original Star Trek...I'll bet Kirk couldn't even play solitaire on his.