The Future Of Aircraft

The Future Of Aircraft - When I think about 2050 and the types of technologies that might be brought to bear in transportation, I think we're going to see iterations of things we're already seeing today, like electrification. And I do think we'll start to see other new technologies starting to make their way in.

But what's critical is that they find an opportunity that's aligned with a business need. But there is a significant problem here. Most of our hydrogen supplies today are derived from methane - a fossil fuel - which is mixed with steam at high pressures.

The Future Of Aircraft

It is an energy-intensive process that creates significant quantities of carbon dioxide. On the other hand, Boeing may choose to concentrate its efforts towards the shorter-range end of the spectrum. Currently, the single-aisle short to medium-haul market is dominated by two of the world's best-selling commercial aircraft families.

What About A Future Small Airplane?

These are the Boeing 737, which has sold just over 10,000 units, and the Airbus A320, which comes in just below this mark. Like Maveric, it abandons the idea of ​​a conventional fuselage. But in this case the shape is more like an arrowhead, with two wings stretching out behind the cockpit in a V. Passengers and cargo would be carried within the wings themselves.

It's these inventions of the past that could help inform the future, leading the way for new scalable and accessible modes of transit - ones that will look very different from what began rolling off Ford's assembly lines more than a century ago.

Its various options going forward also represent an interesting change in its relationship with Airbus. The European manufacturer previously developed aircraft such as the A350 and A380 as a response to Boeing products. However, in looking to compete with aircraft such as the A321XLR, this dynamic appears to have shifted somewhat.

In any case, Boeing has several paths to consider when it comes to developing its future aircraft. So where is Boeing at with the NMA as it stands? Simple Flying reported last month that the company may be considering a three-aircraft family for the NMA.

Renewed Hope For The Nma?

The smallest variant of these will be able to compete with the Airbus A321XLR, which many are touting as a potentially game-changing aircraft. But what if Boeing was to produce a direct single-aisle competitor instead? Aircraft equipped with the wing would look relatively conventional, with a central fuselage.

But the wing itself would be much longer and thinner, and would be braced by a support, or truss, angled up from beneath the fuselage. The wing would fold to make accessing conventional airport gates easier.

Malek: As I think about 2050 and how we'll get around, the thing that gets me most excited is really the variety of options that we'll have at that time. People will still be biking, people will still take buses - but really, it's about the ability to choose the best option for the trip that they need to take.

Building a new type of aircraft would also present a challenge to the aerospace industry. Airbus, for example, makes sections and components of existing aircraft all over Europe, before bringing them for final assembly in Hamburg and Toulouse.

Where Is Boeing At Right Now?

It is a tried and tested supply chain, using the specific expertise present in each region. By 2017, Boeing had generated a reasonable amount of interest from airlines in its proposed NMA. However, it soon had a larger problem on its hands that demanded a faster resolution, namely the 737 MAX crisis.

As such, even before COVID-19 brought the industry to a halt, Boeing shelved its NMA plans and sent the project back to the drawing board. This is because, in a post-COVID market with potentially less demand, its lower capacity will make it a more efficient choice for longer routes with fewer passengers than there would have been before the virus struck.

The new aircraft would also provide welcome relief for carriers looking to replace their aging 757s and 767s without investing in the larger 787. Researchers there are working on a design known as the "Flying-V". It is a new concept for a long-haul aircraft, which they claim would be up to 20% more efficient than a state-of-the-art modern plane such as the Airbus A350.

Malek: Some of the key pillars that are really critical for that to be successful are accessibility. How easy are the mobility solutions to get to? How often are the services running? What areas are covered?

A Direct Axlr Competitor?

Can people really get to where they need to go or have their goods brought to them easily? It's really making sure that everyone has a couple of options. And as we look towards the future, we also need to think about sustainable transportation.

A Boeing concept that has been in the pipeline for several years now is its so-called 'NMA.' This designation stands for 'New Midsize Airplane,' and, in terms of Boeing's numbering system, it would likely be designated as the 797. Boeing initially proposed this seven-abreast, twin-aisle plane as a solution to fill the market between existing widebody

and narrowbody planes. But current research is not only focused on aerodynamics. There's also the question of how future aircraft are powered. For short-range flights, with a limited number of passengers, battery power might be viable.

Projects such as the Eviation Alice - shown off at the 2019 Paris Airshow - are based on proving that concept. US aircraft manufacturer Boeing is often credited for having catalyzed the 'Jet Age' by launching its popular 707 series in the late 1950s.

Since then, it has become an industry juggernaut. Today, it forms one half of the powerful Airbus-Boeing manufacturing duopoly. These two companies have a dominant share in various different airliner markets. To date, each has produced numerous successful aircraft families, but what should we expect from Boeing going forward?

There is also the question of passenger comfort. Those sitting close to the side of the aircraft - and effectively close to the edge of the "wing" - would experience much greater movement when the aircraft is banking, while take-off and landing would have to be at steeper angles than normal.

Malek: A lot of what we hear about in the news today in terms of autonomous cars is a system that's mostly able to drive itself. It uses sensors to see around the vehicle and then it has special computers on board to be able to take in basic map information and figure out how it should get from point A to point B. Those technologies are in testing and development, and I think

it's very exciting to see the progress. For longer distances, batteries are currently impractical, because they are simply too heavy and do not contain enough energy to compensate for that weight. The industry has explored other options, such as hybridization - in which part of the thrust needed to fly is provided by electric power.

In order to be truly zero emission, aircraft would need to be powered by hydrogen produced in a much more environmentally friendly way - and large quantities would be needed. But according to Glenn Llewellyn, Airbus vice president for zero-emission aircraft, society itself will eventually provide the solution.

Thankfully, 2021 has gotten off to a better start for the company. With aviation safety agencies worldwide now recertifying the 737 MAX, a flurry of deliveries has followed. Elsewhere in Boeing's portfolio, yesterday also saw its first 787 'Dreamliner' delivery since October.

However, while working through its delivery backlog is one thing, the company will also have its mind on the longer-term future. Let's take a look at what some of its next aircraft might be. Malek: Hyperloop as a technology is very interesting.

The idea is that you're cutting down on things like drag and friction to move efficiently. When you think about bringing hyperloop into reality, you have to start thinking about how to build out that infrastructure, how to make it accessible, how to match it with a business case and how to make sure that it's resilient to changes.

And so as we look at the future opportunity for hyperloop, it's not, 'is the technology ready?' I'd say it's there. It's really about if the infrastructure is ready and how we adopt and deploy it.

Researchers said the machine performed well, although it suffered from a kind of aerodynamic wobbling, known as "Dutch roll". This made it difficult to keep the wings level, and resulted in what they described as "a somewhat rough landing" that damaged the front landing gear.

Transportation is among the largest contributors of carbon production, responsible for about 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As urban planners look to the future, many are focused on sustainability, including a shift away from traditional gas-fueled vehicles.

"We think we can keep the manufacturing costs relatively low, compared to concepts that would have more unique components," says Roelof Vos, the project lead for the Flying-V and an assistant professor at Delft University of Technology.

However, a year into the pandemic, it is beginning to seem as if all is not lost for the NMA. As Simple Flying explored earlier this month, the aircraft may yet prove to be the perfect post-pandemic plane for its market.

But with the basic layout of commercial aircraft having gone unchanged for decades, there are other practical issues to consider - some of which avionics expert Steve Wright of the University of the West of England describes as "showstoppers".

"There is a really big challenge there. And there is a big expectation from society which we think it is our duty to find answers to," says Sandra Bour-Schaeffer, the chief executive of Airbus UpNext, which evaluates new technologies for the European

aerospace giant. The design was originally the brainchild of a graduate student, and formed part of his thesis. It is being developed with support from the Dutch airline KLM and Airbus - and in July a scale model took to the skies for the first time, from an airbase in Germany.

Boeing will be hoping that 2021 represents a more successful year that allows it to put the difficulties of 2020 to the back of its mind. Of course, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic heavily impacted almost every facet of the airline industry, and Boeing was not the only company to suffer.

However, the timing of the global crisis was also far from ideal for the manufacturer. This could result in there being a market for Boeing to produce a Future Small Airplane (FSA). This may be a natural replacement for the 737 MAX.

Alternatively, based on changing trends in passenger demands, perhaps it could compete more directly with the Airbus A220. Either way, while a short-haul workhorse that isn't a 737 or A320 variant could prove to be something of a culture shock for the industry, it may also represent an exciting change.

But as we look towards 2050, I think where we're really going to see this technology take off is in the commercial space, where you have shorter trips. When we think about being able to drive in every city, every dirt road, every country highway – that's a lot to try to validate for.

And so when we think about where these options can scale first, it's going to be in these simpler areas. In some cities it might look like transportation from an airport to a downtown, so your next taxi or Lyft ride could be autonomous.

Malek: When I think about my hopes and dreams for the future of transportation, it's really that we focus on the broadest sense of what we, as people, need from our transportation systems, and start with that as our organizing principle.

Historically, we've started with 'what do cars need, what do planes need?' But planes and cars are here just for us. Before the pandemic, Boeing had already been struggling with the fallout of the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX.

This came about in March 2019 after two similar fatal accidents involving the type within months of each other. The difficulties that arose from this situation were then compounded by the pandemic, resulting in a $12 billion loss for the company in 2020. Last year was also Boeing's worst on record in terms of order cancellations.

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