Experts believe that in the near future the aircraft will not undergo drastic changes. These will be devices of a traditional design, but with more outstanding characteristics. In military technology, the roll will be shifted to "drones." However, during the Paris Air Show in 2017, a number of aircraft manufacturers demonstrated new aircraft concepts designed to change the concept of aviation. The "heavyweights" will be replaced by brisk urban aircraft , aircraft, electric planes and utility drones.
Electric cars? No - electrolytes!
During the Paris Air Show, Israeli-based startup Eviation unveiled its all-electric, lightweight Alice Commuter. The aircraft of the future uses distributed motion with one main propeller on the tail and two propellers on the wings. A total of 2.7 tons of lithium-ion batteries provide enough power to carry nine passengers at a distance of 600 miles (965 km).
The designers hope that the new development of the Alice aircraft will help catalyze the demand for capacious batteries and will spur the development of fast reloading technology. Solving these problems is critical to ensuring electrical flight. The international company Uber is already discussing plans to use electro-electrics as air taxis in the future.
In 2018, Eviation intends to move from assembling the Alice prototype and testing (which has already begun) to the certification process. The company expects to begin operating its first commercial flights in 2021. The startup is already negotiating with regional operators.
The "killer" Boeing-737?
Another ambitious startup, Wright Electric, offers its vision of the aircraft of the future. And he will also be on electric traction. But unlike the small-scale development of the Israelis, the developers intend to no more or less press the most popular model in the world - the Boeing-737.
As noted in Wright Electric, fuel is the largest component in the cost of flight. The easiest way to reduce these costs is to not use aviation kerosene at all. The company is developing a commercial passenger aircraft, the ECO series, which runs on batteries and can operate short-haul flights within a radius of 300 miles (480 km). By the way, short-haul flights account for 30 percent of all flights, in monetary terms this is $ 26 billion.
The company announced the creation of a 150-seat aircraft, capable of reducing the Boeing 737 market. The partnership is carried out jointly with the budget British airline EasyJet, which helps to implement the project.
Return move
By the way, the largest aircraft manufacturer Boeing does not intend to remain in the wake of progress. Mike Sinnett, vice president of commercial product development, said during a presentation at the Paris Air Show 2017 “Future Research and Development Prospects for Boeing,” the company is considering the possibility of using electric aircraft for cargo transportation in the near future.
“The airplanes of the future that we are developing today will be smaller than today. Most likely, they will be either electric or hybrid with electric motor systems. We expect our device to become fully autonomous, ”said Sinnett.
Flying car? Already a reality!
A flying car is no longer a futuristic concept. This was proved by the Slovak manufacturer AeroMobil, presenting in 2017 its latest aircraft at Top Marques Monaco and at the Paris Air Show. By the way, AeroMobil is already available for pre-order: the cost of the “aircraft” is $ 1.2 million, which is a bit for a transformer machine. In the future, the company plans to build a variety of models in several price categories.
Characteristics of the aircraft:
- Complete conversion to flight mode in less than 3 minutes.
- The automobile range (range at one gas station) is 700 km using the NEDC cycle.
- The maximum aviation range is 750 km.
- The fuel tank capacity is 90 liters.
- Propeller with a variable step forward stroke (2400 rpm).
- Maximum speed: in car mode - 160 km / h, in airplane mode - 112/259/360 km / h (depending on the task).
- Take-off weight - up to 960 kg (payload - 240 kg).
By the way, Airbus is also developing a promising air taxi.
Russian aircraft
Russia recently hit the world with tests of a hypersonic aircraft, as if descending from a screen of a fantastic blockbuster. Although the project is secret and there is no need to wait for official explanations, both specialists and ordinary people talk about its capabilities.
Glider Yu-71, according to some reports, represents a class of unmanned hypersonic aircraft of the 6th generation, intended for military purposes. The Russian aircraft is supposedly capable of accelerating to 11,000 km and actively maneuvering, which makes its interception almost impossible (at least by existing methods). Flight range - about 5500 km, altitude - up to 80,000 m, which allows the device to overcome part of the path in low Earth orbit. By the way, similar projects are also being developed in China and the USA.