Okay.
One day I was sitting at the airport, counting the cash I had just pick-pocketed – no not
really, just checking whether you were paying attention -- and I noticed a couple of planes
parked side by side near the terminal.
They looked almost the same, but one of them had a rounded nose while the other one was
pointed.
Well, it got me thinking: what's the difference?
Who nose?
Ha.
Most commercial aircraft, for example, the mammoth Airbus A380, which can seat up to
868 passengers, or the somewhat smaller Boeing 747, have blunt noses.
On the other hand, several models of passenger airliners have sharp noses.
And all military airplanes have pointed noses.
So, what gives?
Let me get straight to the point: the manufacturers decide on the shape of a plane's nose depending
on the speed at which it's going to travel.
There are two types of planes: subsonic (meaning their speed is slower than the speed of sound)
and supersonic (the ones that fly faster than you know what).
Subsonic planes are equipped with a rounded nose.
During the flight, it allows the air to move around the airplane more freely.
In other words, when an airplane with a blunt nose pushes the air, it rolls over the fuselage
without any serious resistance.
Now, what would happen if a supersonic plane had a blunt nose?
Imagine a machine that’s flying at breakneck speed (to be precise, at a speed of more than
767 miles per hour - which is how fast sound travels).
When the air first meets the rounded nose of a subsonic airplane, it produces a shock
wave.
If you're not flying very fast (well, relatively), it doesn't matter.
But at hypersonic speeds, the created shock would be too strong, and could possibly lead
to big problems, including serious damage to the fuselage.
The solution turned out to be quite simple - to build supersonic aircraft with sharp,
pointed noses.
This way, the airplane manages to minimize the resistance caused by the shock after the
speed of sound is reached.
For example, just look at the famous Concorde plane, which stopped flying only in 2003.
With its pointed nose, this supersonic passenger airliner could fly at a maximum speed of more
than twice the speed of sound.
However, there’s another curious thing about supersonic jets.
Not only do they need to have a pointed nose, but they also have to be made out of a super
strong material.
The faster a plane flies after passing the sound barrier, the hotter it becomes.
That's why some of the fastest aircraft are made of titanium.
This material doesn't deform or melt at the blistering speeds they reach.
On the other hand, should a plane accelerate to the speed of a spacecraft, it would become
so hot that even titanium wouldn’t be able to hold up.
So how do spacecraft deal with this problem?
By having blunt noses!
I know, it may sound paradoxical, but in their case, the rounded nose helps them to create
a bow-shaped shock wave after reaching supersonic speeds.
This kind of shock wave also starts in front of a spaceship, but doesn't actually touch
it.
As a result, the material a spacecraft is made of doesn't heat up as much as it would
with a pointed nose.
At the same time, rounded noses have one serious drawback: the spacecraft equipped with them
consume too much fuel, which costs a lot of money.
That's why manufacturers only equip space shuttles with blunt noses if they absolutely
have to.
Would you like to fly a supersonic jet with a pointed nose?
Tell me your opinion in the comment section below!
In any case, there’s a chance that in several decades it won't matter whether a plane has
a pointed or a blunt nose, because aircraft might start to look totally different altogether.
For example, according to one of the predictions, planes in the future might come without windows
whatsoever!
It’ll supposedly make the fuselage stronger, which, in turn, will allow aircraft to fly
at incredible speeds.
Likewise, air travel is likely to become much greener by 2050, thanks to commercial airplanes
becoming fully electric.
It would cut down on harmful greenhouse gas emissions and save tons of money on fuel.
Besides, electric planes would be much quieter than the ones flying today.
Currently, the main goal is to create a battery that would be able to power an airplane throughout
the whole flight.
And at the same time, this battery shouldn't be insanely heavy or massive.
Unfortunately, right now, manufacturers don't have the technology that would combine these
two requirements.
Also, in several decades, planes might lose their tails!
Should airliners become electric, they could be equipped with a special system that would
provide thrust in any needed direction, not only backwards like today.
As a result, there wouldn’t be any more need for additional control pieces, including
the tail!
Another change in the aircraft of the future may relate to the material they’d be made
of.
The problem is that the heavier a plane is, the more fuel it needs to fly, and the more
expensive the flights are.
That's why, at some point, you might witness aluminum planes turning into carbon fiber
ones!
One of the benefits of building planes from carbon fiber is that the engineers would be
able to extend the wings vertically, which would mean additional efficiency during the
flight.
Also, the plane's shell would be way tougher.
This way, if a stray bird crashed into the airliner, it wouldn't even leave a small dent.
There might also be some unusual looking and oddly shaped aircraft.
For example, the airplanes of the future might get a box wing design.
Engineers claim that this idea would become reality thanks to super lightweight, nonmetallic
materials that could be used during the construction.
The box wing design could make future planes' engines five times more effective than the
ones used today.
Another cool aircraft project is called the Sky Whale; this plane may easily become the
largest passenger airliner ever.
It would dwarf the biggest plane of our times, the Airbus A380-800, which typically seats
575 passengers.
The Sky Whale would be able to transport 755 passengers at a time.
It would have three passenger decks, and several viewing platforms upstairs.
Interestingly, even with such impressive characteristics, the future mammoth aircraft would use less
fuel, and produce significantly less noise.
What's more, airport runways wouldn't have to be any longer: the plane's powerful engines
would allow the machine to take off with more power.
Anyway, experts say that while the construction of the Sky Whale isn't likely to start any
time soon, all the components necessary for building this giant can easily be manufactured.
One more idea is a plane with massive wings which would have the body built into them.
Theoretically, this innovation is supposed to make the plane more aerodynamic.
The engines of such a flying machine would be turboelectric - that's the most effective
way to make them greener, and to minimize the amount of noise they would produce.
As for the shape of the plane, it might look more like a UFO or a triangle, which would
reduce the drag during take-off and save precious fuel.
And now, how do you feel about the "Flying V" aircraft?
Admittedly, this machine probably doesn’t look like anything you've ever seen before.
On the other hand, such an unusual shape is supposed to make the plane super energy efficient!
Also, the V-shaped aircraft would be able to travel ultra-long-haul distances.
The main peculiarity of this airliner is that the passenger cabin, fuel tanks, and cargo
hold would be in the wings, which would give the plane an exciting form.
At 180 ft long, the plane would seat 314 passengers.
Sorry, no mention here about the leg room.
And the best thing about the Flying V?
There would be no need to change the airports' infrastructure, for example, hangars, gates,
or runways - the airliner wouldn't take up any more space!
So whether it’s blunt or pointed, now you nose!
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