Silent Plane Would Cut Airport Noise
Somehow, I find the headline “Silent plane would cut airport noise” as amusing as it is obvious. The photo doesn’t help.
Otherwise, the story is interesting:
A U.S.-British team of researchers from academia and the aerospace industry believes the passenger aircraft of the distant future will not only be fuel efficient, but virtually silent.
[…]
The body shape of the “silent aircraft” would allow for a slower landing approach and takeoff to cut airport noise — a form of environmental pollution that makes it politically unpopular to expand airports and flight schedules. “The ‘silent aircraft’ can help address this concern and thus aid in meeting the increasing passenger demand for air transport,” said Edward Greitzer, and professor of aeronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
I wouldn’t advise standing on runways without ear plugs just yet, however:
Even if he’s right, don’t expect to see — or hear — such a plane anytime soon. The project is aimed at establishing research knowledge that could lead to development of an aircraft by 2030. And whether such a plane could become a commercial success is anybody’s guess.
If it’s the only way to get permits to expand airports, I suspect it will have to be.
Looking at the picture, its a lifting body. I believe research on those started in the 1950s. So why do they need another 25 years for something that has been studied for 50 ears?
Slower to land and take off?
Exactly what we need in a time where we periodically receive warning about our commercial aircrafts’ vulnerabilities to shoulder-fired missiles.