blade five one turn right heading
turn right two four five reported established Airbus in the past 48 hours revealed
three brand new concept aircraft that if all went according to plan could actually enter
commercial service by 2035. That’s just 15 years away. The three concepts have
attracted a lot of attention so why not dig deeper into what they are all about.
The three concepts that were revealed would be the world's first zero-emission
commercial aircraft and represent a totally unseen before approach.
Included in this are exploring various new technology pathways not used before as well
as aerodynamic configurations that would help support Airbus in their goal to lead the way and
the aviation industry to achieve this type of flight with their commercial aircraft.
The Airbus CEO commented on the historic unveiling of these new 3 concept jets and said This is a
historic moment for the commercial aviation sector as a whole and we intend to play a leading role in
the most important transition this industry has ever seen. The concepts we unveil today offer the
world a glimpse of our ambition to drive a bold vision for the future of zero-emission flight
Let’s get into the three designs with the first being a turbofan design that would have a range of
some 2,000+ nautical miles. This one is capable of carrying between 120 and 200 passengers,
just short of your NMA that we have seen pop up quite a lot in recent months. This
type of aircraft would be able to fly transcontinentally and is actually
powered by a fast turbine engine that is running on hydrogen instead of jet fuel.
Our second aircraft is a blended wing body, this is a design you may have seen
on multiple occasions now as it seems to be the go to design of the future.
This would seat also up to 200 passengers and actually see the wings merge with the
body of the air raft. However, the fuselage is quite wide, much wider than what we’d see
on a regular commercial aircraft nowadays. A wider fuselage enables the cabin space to be bigger
and the overall inside design of the aircraft change from what we usually know. The wide
fuselage in addition opens up multiple options for where the hydrogen storage and distortion can be.
The final concept is a turboprop that would have a range of more than 1,000
nautical miles and be able to seat up to 100 passengers.
Airbus notes its the perfect option for short-haul trips and is powered by a
turboprop engine but instead of a turbofan its hydrogen combustion in a modified gas turbine.
The Airbus CEO went on to say These concepts will help us explore and mature the design
and layout of the world’s first climate-neutral, zero-emission commercial aircraft, which we aim to
put into service by 2035, Adding The transition to hydrogen, as the primary power source for
these concept planes, will require decisive action from the entire aviation ecosystem. Together with
the support from government and industrial partners, we can rise up to this challenge
to scale-up renewable energy and hydrogen for the sustainable future of the aviation industry.
There’s still a long way to go before this can be achieved, in fact,
airports will need to make a number of key adjustments to the way their infrastructure is
in order to transport and refuel with the hydrogen. This will be crucial for the day to
day operations of these jets. Airbus notes that support from the government on these matters to
in turn have the ultimate goal of being more sustainable will also be key moving forward.