Futuristic plane

[Hooli]

rhinochopig said:

Exactly, I saw a documentary at the weekend where they made a whale tank out of clear 'aluminum '

I saw that years ago, I seem to recall the stuff was a danger to joggers though

[Mr Dave]

Hooli said:

rhinochopig said:

Exactly, I saw a documentary at the weekend where they made a whale tank out of clear 'aluminum '

I saw that years ago, I seem to recall the stuff was a danger to joggers though

Forget the joggers, will teh doggers be alright?

The frame of this concept seems pretty much like the geo-fancyword structure used in the wellington and so on.

[dr_gn]

doogz said:

dr_gn said:

doogz said:

Zad said:

Such madness! It's not as if they make plane windscreens out of it... oh, wait...

Know much about aircraft structures?

No?

Cool.

It could be done, but it'd rely on the strain being taken by the alloy members, and there'd have to be minimal (no) deflection or rotation, or the glass would crack. Which is bad news. Ever been on a plane in heavy turbulence and looked up the fuselage to see the whole aircraft twisting?

Now go try bend a pane of glass without breaking it.

Edited by doogz on Wednesday 15th June 17:19

Where does it say it's made of 'glass' ?

My apologies. If you click onto the Airbus website, it's made from an as yet unknown material. Super.

Where does it say it's made "from an as yet unknown material" ?

[dr_gn]

'Course it's been done before by a company now long absorbed into the EADS/Airbus group:

[TVR1]

rhinochopig said:

Exactly, I saw a documentary at the weekend where they made a whale tank out of clear 'aluminum '

Star Trek 4 wasn't it?

[rhinochopig]

doogz said:

dr_gn said:

doogz said:

dr_gn said:

doogz said:

Zad said:

Such madness! It's not as if they make plane windscreens out of it... oh, wait...

Know much about aircraft structures?

No?

Cool.

It could be done, but it'd rely on the strain being taken by the alloy members, and there'd have to be minimal (no) deflection or rotation, or the glass would crack. Which is bad news. Ever been on a plane in heavy turbulence and looked up the fuselage to see the whole aircraft twisting?

Now go try bend a pane of glass without breaking it.

Edited by doogz on Wednesday 15th June 17:19

Where does it say it's made of 'glass' ?

My apologies. If you click onto the Airbus website, it's made from an as yet unknown material. Super.

Where does it say it's made "from an as yet unknown material" ?

On the airbus website, like i said:

"Future materials may not even be the materials we see and use today. 'Composite' materials will be used - new matter made of a combination of different materials. In the future materials may not even take a solid state, but could be a composition of fluid and gas for example!"

It goes on to waffle about such other things as integrated neural networks and morphing materials.

Also,

"The future passenger cabin will be fully ecological. Fully recyclable plant fibres that can be grown to a custom shape will be sourced from responsible and sustainable practices."

Groovy. Just make up anything you like, and call it a concept. Fair enough i suppose, i was sort of expecting something vaguely realistic though.

I think you'd be surprised how close some of that Sci-fi stuff is. Most of what you describe already exists in labs, the problems are in productionising it for a reasonable cost.

Morphing wings have been tested by Boeing. Genetically engineered fibres exist as does the capability to grow them - albeit at the lab.