4 ms·
BWB aircraft have a few more issues than just a lack of window seats. They require a higher angle of attack on take-off and landing, and, with passengers sitti
by usuallyalurker 3y ago
BWB aircraft have a few more issues than just a lack of window seats.
They require a higher angle of attack on take-off and landing, and, with passengers sitting much further from the centerline of the aircraft than on a conventional design, passengers are subject to much more g-forces during roll maneuvers.
The second issue can be mitigated by avoiding rolling the aircraft and/or by performing less aggressive rolls, but the first issue is something passengers will just have to deal with if BWB passenger aircraft become a thing.
- twic 3y agoI wonder if you could tilt everyone's seats forward during takeoff and landing. I've seen very high density seating in the far east where people are virtually standing. Maybe the seats could start off that way, stay that way through takeoff and ascent, then gently lower to a normal posture in level flight.
- pcardoso 3y agoLike the pendolino trains? Perhaps it could work, but will make the seats more complicated.
- bobthepanda 3y agoYou would certainly need space to rotate a seat. The only seats that do change shape, those lie flat seats, need a fair amount of room around to not bump into something else while changing shape.
- inglor_cz 3y agoI am right now sitting in a Pendolino train, not far from Prague :) Pendolino is a nice technology, but expensive to maintain. And aircraft, unlike trains, is very sensitive to total weight; the actuators for the seats will be extra dead weight that you need to lift, and this extra weight may eat quite a bit of the fuel savings, if not all of them.
- bee_rider 3y agoOr don’t go back to normal posture; just have them lay flat the whole ride. Plus they can save on industrial design by buying parts from morgue suppliers.