TechnologyNeither Boeing nor Airbus: three commercial aircraft that could change the landscape of air travel
There was a time when if you wanted to know what air transport would be like in the near future, you only had to look at what Boeing, McDonnell Douglas or Airbus were doing.
But that time has passed and today the major manufacturers find themselves struggling with production problems, doubts about which technology to invest in and a great lethargy, which make the flying experience practically the same as it was decades ago.
However, some startup initiatives seem to show the way to a new era in air travel. Three of them are at a very promising stage, as recently reported.
Boom Supersonic, JetZero and Radia propose to solve some aviation dilemmas with creativity and determination. These are aircraft that aim to fly faster, more efficiently and carry huge loads, which are currently impossible to carry by air.
Flight twice as fast as current jets
Boom is the best-known of the startups and is at the most advanced stage, having flown a concept aircraft, the XB-1, to prove its thesis that it is possible to break the sound barrier without producing noise on the surface.
The company founded by Blake Scholl, who comes from large IT companies, wants to launch the Overture, a supersonic airliner capable of flying at Mach 1.7, or twice the speed of current jets.
The Overture will be able to carry up to 80 passengers over distances of 4,250 nm (6,840 km), a performance that in many aspects does not surpass the Concorde.
But Boom’s jet aims to do this in a profitable way that does not have as much impact on the environment. Over land, the Overture will be able to fly at Mach 1.3, the limit for the sonic boom to not reach the ground, following a concept tested by the company.
The company has completed the structure of a factory in North Carolina and decided to develop its own engine for the aircraft, named “Symphony”.
This is perhaps the biggest challenge of the project since no major engine manufacturer has agreed to invest in this segment. Rolls-Royce, whose engine equipped the Concorde, approached Boom but withdrew early in the project.
But Boom has the support of President Donald Trump, who a few days ago ordered the FAA to revoke rules that prohibited civilian supersonic flight over the US.
If it can achieve this feat, the Overture will be able to fly between New York and Rome in 4 hours and 40 minutes instead of the current 8 hours.
Flying body
JetZero is another US startup, founded by Tom O’Leary and Mark Page in California in 2021. Its proposal? To change the decades-old appearance of commercial jets, the famous cylinder with wings and tail.
The company’s aircraft is the Z4, with a “blended wing body” configuration, that is, its flattened fuselage has the capacity to generate most of the lift, despite small wings.
Perhaps JetZero’s greatest achievement is not ‘reinventing the wheel’. The Z4 is based on an idea that has already been tested and proven, including in the Space Shuttle.
With refined aerodynamics, the commercial aircraft will be able to carry 250 passengers while consuming 20% less fuel. The engines are the same current turbofans and, since they are installed in the upper rear portion of the Z4, they have no limitations on diameter or shape.
The cabin shape will allow for plenty of passenger space, but it’s unclear how the aircraft would meet emergency evacuation requirements and adapt to airports.
JetZero has received support from United Airlines and Alaska Air and has just announced Piedmont Triad International Airport, also in North Carolina, as the site of its future manufacturing facility.
In addition, the company is building a demonstrator aircraft with the help of Scaled Composites at the request of the U.S. Air Force, which is interested in a transport and aerial refueling version.
Lightweight giant
Startup Radia emerged in headlines last year with giant Windrunner, but it is a project that has been managed for eight years.
According to Mark Lundstrom, its CEO and founder, Emrpeesa chose to take the project ahead discreetly before spreading it.
For this reason, the internship is quite advanced, with 60% of the resources guaranteed and 70% of the work expected to be done in Europe, despite the radio being created in the US.
But what is Windrunner? A massive cargo plane who, in some ways, will be the largest in the world. With 108 meters long, it was designed to transport bulky loads, initially focused on the energy industry.
Lundstrom said he had the idea of an aircraft so when he saw the difficulty that wind generator manufacturers have to transport the huge helical blades around the world.
Windrunner proposes to transport these pieces and enable installation on land, whose market is up to 20 times higher than at sea.
The company claims that it intends to make a prototype fly by the end of the decade and that it must be built in Italy and finalized in the US.
The vain dimensions would have already aroused the look of governments and military, says the radia. It is worth mentioning that Windrunner will have a load capacity less than a Boeing 777F or Airbus A350F (72.6 tons), but will not have rivals in internal volume.
About the Author
Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
