4 ms·
It's cheap, stable, and spacious. So why hasn't this taken off?
by demarq 11y ago
It's cheap, stable, and spacious. So why hasn't this taken off?
- LaurensBER 11y agoUnproven technology and the market for "personal airplanes" is relative limited so not that much funding available. Still, I love clever and intelligent engineering like this and I hope there's a future for something like this.
- blunte 11y agoI suspect it has much to do with people being slow to accept big changes in some systems. Boeing (and surely other airplane manufacturers) has investigated and considered lifting body designs - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_wing_body https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_wing_body - but chose to move forward with traditional designs. I don't see the news item now, but I read that Boeing felt it was just too radical for passengers to accept (despite the significant advantages). It will probably take some wealthy "renegade" type to start a new airplane company that offers new designs like this.
- eatkinson 11y agoBecause it looks weird. Seriously. There is a long list of excellent aircraft like the Long EZ and the Facetmobile that never took off because, at the end of the day, people are willing to pay extra to have something that looks like an airplane.