new airliner design on BBC video

snipped-for-privacy@nospam.com (Gernot Hassenpflug) wrote in :

Hng? How would a quieter airliner not be a good thing? Noise *is* a major factor. Over here, the national airport (Schiphol) is limited in capacity not by its runways or other infrastructure, but by noise regulations. An ongoing project to isolate thousands of nearby homes is costing hundreds of millions. Studies show the constant noise affects everyone (not just by lack of sleep, but there are also more subtle effects, e.g. a diminished ability to concentrate).

Harro> Hng? How would a quieter airliner not be a good thing? Harro> Noise *is* a major factor.

I forgot the smiley... Tongue-in-cheek post. I know, I need to get out more... but my lab is keeping me in.

where on bbc.com did you find this video? I did not see it there.

Craig

would you mind posting a link to the mentioned website?

Hi Everyone,

To find the BBC video Gernot refers to first go to the following site:

On the top right hand corner you will see a box stating 'Watch BBC news in video' , click on it and it opens up a new window. In the top right hand corner there is a search function and all I did was enter the word 'aircraft' and the relevant article/video comes up to be clicked on to play, being 'World's first silent plane designed'.

Hope this helps, Stephen.

What this is is an off-shoot of the Blended Wing-Body aircraft project:

What's possibly been added (from the "sound" of it - re: microphones) is some aeroacoustic feedback to also help cancel noise...a concept which has been around at least since before I got my degree.

I found the mention of the problem slowing the aircraft down to be interesting...

Doesn't this run into the same old "evacuate the cabin in 30 seconds" problem? Seems like the reason we are still using tubes with wings is they are a lot easier to get out of, rather than structural and aerodynamic efficiency.

A little of that, though I'd think the evec issue could be easily solved. It happens that I'm acquainted with one of the guys that originated the aerodynamic concept - he's managed to convince me, though more as a cargo and not a passenger aircraft. Maybe...

It may suffer a little of "people won't fly on anything unfamiliar" as a passenger jet. I seem to recall conversations about that facter concerning the Sonic Cruiser - thoughts that it might appear a bit "radical" in the public eye:

Another really neat looking, classy design...and yet the stock went up on the announcement that it was cancelled...go figure.

Problem with alot of sedigns is the pasenger comfort. With the flying wing concepts, the folks further away fromg the centerline would not be having the most enjoyable ride. I imagine baggage and fuel issues would also come into play. Point is, in the end, the current configuration works well, is a good compromise, and easy/cheap to build.

Rich Cox

Second that...the Cruiser was a pretty good attempt at something more modern though, IMO.