February 2013: The Wright brothers’ first flight, just over 100 years ago, was less than the length of a football field. Since then, aviation has come a long, long way. Planes can now fly from NYC to Tokyo in just 13 hours at 500+ miles per hour. The largest plane, currently the Airbus A380, can carry 800+ passengers. Boeing’s new Dreamliner 787 flies 20% more efficiently than previous models – saving fuel and reducing emissions.
But that is just the current state-of-the-art of aviation; hundreds of companies are working on the next generation of aircraft – everything from flying cars to sub-orbital flights. This is a really exciting time in aviation.
Here are just a few developments you can expect to see flying above you in the next 5-20 years. Which one do you think will change the world the most?
Flying Cars
Wouldn’t it be cool to drive right onto a runway, push a button to fold out the wings, and fly to your favorite vacation spot 200 miles away? When you get there, you press a button to fold the wings back up, drive off the runway, and head to the beach. Technically, this is called a Roadable Aircraft because you would still need a pilot’s license to fly the car, er, plane. Companies developing this technology right now: Terrafugia, Parajet
Pilotless Jets
Imagine getting on a flight from NYC to LA – but with no pilot flying the plane. The entire flight would be controlled by a computer, just like military drones – except with passengers on board. Would you feel comfortable flying on that plane? It is coming soon to an airport near you. Companies already testing a jet designed to do just this: ASTRAEA, Boeing
Supersonic Jets
The Concorde was an amazing engineering marvel. It was a beautiful plane that pushed the technological envelope to fly at Mach 2. What I think is most incredible is that it was designed way back in the ’60s, before there were computer chips, integrated circuts, composite materials, advanced avionics, GPS, etc. Imagine the plane’s circuit boards having discrete electronic components like resisters and capacitors instead of IC chips. Unfortunately, a tragic accident in 2003 resulted in all Concorde passenger flights being permanently grounded. It did have issues – major issues – most notably a deafening super-sonic boom that could be heard on the ground. But modern companies, using the latest aeronautical technologies (and computer chips), are working on reducing or eliminating the sonic boom effect. You should expect to be flying at supersonic speeds by 2025, maybe earlier.
Hypersonic Jets
Supersonic jets, twice as fast as current jets, fly at Mach 2, which is about 1200 mph. But for some, that might not be fast enough. It would still take seven hours to get from NYC to Toyko at that speed. A few companies are skipping supersonic and going for the glory of hypersonic – Mach 4+. This would let you get to Toyko from NYC in just four hours. You could fly in, have fresh sushi for lunch, and be back home in time for dinner. One company currently working on this, with an appropriate name, is HyperMach SonicStar.
Sub-orbital Tourism
Virgin Galactic wants to give you a chance to earn your astronaut wings; for only $250,000 they will fly you to the edge of space, let you float around like an astronaut for a few minutes, and bring you back to the same airport an hour later. Okay, sarcasm aside, this would be really cool. I’d sign up if I had an extra $250k. Several other companies are also working on sub-orbital tourism including XCOR, Armadillo, and Blue Origin.
Point-to-Point Travel
After you get your astronaut wings and want to actually get somewhere, you should consider buying a ticket on a Point-to-Point flight. While traditional jets fly about 5-7 miles above the ground, P2P jets will take you to about 150 miles up. This lets the plane take advantage of orbital mechanics (physics) so you can fly just about anywhere in the world in about 1.5 hours. Instead of taking 13 hours to get from NYC to Tokyo, or seven, or four, P2P will take you just an hour and half. This is at least 25-50 years out, but one European firm is working on this technology already.
To Space and Beyond
Now that you can get anywhere in the world in just an hour and half, the world is getting to be a pretty small place. Where can you go to escape from all this? The next step is, obviously, to book a hotel room in space. You hop in a rocketplane, take off, experience weightlessness, and arrive at a hotel (perhaps a Marriott?) orbiting Earth. Of course you have booked a room with a view, and out your window you have a beautiful vista of our planet, its clouds, oceans, cities and land. You won’t even be homesick. Amazingly, at least one company thinks this will happen in our lifetimes: Bigelow Aerospace.