Airbus has filed a patent for a new style of commercial airplane that looks remarkably like a UFO.
Airbus has filed a patent for a new style of commercial airplane that looks remarkably like a UFO.
The craft has a short, broad nose and wide wings that merge into a squared off, truncated tail. Inside there’s a circular passenger seating area.
Among the problems with the existing tubular shape of planes is that in order to compensate for pressurization effects, areas in the front and back need to be sealed, and the materials used for this are heavy.
By placing all the seats in a circle that sits in the middle, the need for large front or back areas is avoided entirely, thus making the cumbersome reinforcements unnecessary.
While the experimental design solves that problem, it creates some others.
Among the biggest is passenger entry and exit.
The primary way to board and deplane is from beneath the craft and through a hatch, and it’s been suggested that the portal likely violates emergency exit requirements.
A company spokesperson clarified that the alternative design wasn’t necessarily created with eventual building in mind, and said “It’s just one of many ideas. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to be working on making it a reality.”
Also mentioned was that Airbus makes more than 600 patent request filings a year.
