5 futuristic aircraft that are tantalizingly close to becoming a reality

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

5 futuristic aircraft that are tantalizingly close to becoming a reality

Although flying is a convenient way to travel, it can be majorly damaging to the environment due to the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

from burning jet fuel.

As more countries are committing to becoming

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

by 2050, innovators in the world of aviation are coming up with new creative aircraft that could not only reduce pollution but also completely transform how we travel.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

01.

Planes that barely need a runwaydata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

“We’ve proven that our eSTOL aircraft has the capability to do what we said it could do.”

In a video posted to its

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

channel, next-gen aerospace company Electra has shared footage from the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

of its first hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft, called the EL-2 Goldfinch.

The Goldfinch was able to take off and land in

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, around 10% of the typical length of conventional runways.

Read more →

02.

High-flying electric planesdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

“As the entire aerospace industry struggles with its goals … I hope Helios Horizon sends a clear signal.”

Helios Horizon is on a mission to prove that electric planes can perform just as well as (if not better than) traditional airplanes, and

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

of its electric-converted Pipistrel Taurus prove just that.

Not only has the plane been able to reach altitudes of up to 24,000 feet — breaking records for an aircraft of its type and size — it did so by only using 60% of its

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. Helios believes it can have electric planes flying as high as 44,000 feet by

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

Read more →

03.

Supersonic wingless jetsdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Designer Oscar Viñals could be considered a modern-day Leonardo Da Vinci, at least when it comes to imagining the future of human flight.

Designer Oscar Viñals used computer software to conjure up a design for a futuristic-looking new plane. His concept, called

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, is a wingless, supersonic, hydrogen-powered jet that could fly from London to New York in less than five hours instead of eight.

Viñals holds no engineering degree and thrives on speculative technologies, so this idea is likely much further away than the other planes on our list. That said, several hydrogen planes are currently in testing phases and could become a reality sooner than we think.

Read more →

04.

‘Noiseless’ private planesdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

These VTOLs are perhaps best suited to address the pollution generated from personal aircraft usage.

Sirius Aviation AG is developing a

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

that is technically

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

(VTOL), meaning it needs very little runway to take off.

There are

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

in development: the CEO Jet and Adventure Jet — both of which produce very little noise and are intended to replace small-party air travel like private jets.

Read more →

05.

The ‘world’s largest’ aircraftdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

The huge aircraft is required to deliver the increasingly larger wind turbine blades.

Startup wind energy developer Radia unveiled what it calls the “world’s largest aircraft,” which is designed to transport giant wind turbines.

Radia has been developing longer

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

blades than ever before for their

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

project, which would allow for wind energy to be collected in

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

across the country.

Read more →

Join our

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don’t miss

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#futuristic #aircraft #tantalizingly #close #reality

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up