Airbus' New Design That Could Revolutionize Flying as We Know It

The plane looks more like an air force jet, but it could make flying much more efficient.
Fabienne Lang
Maveric aircraftAirbus

One big difference between land-based vehicles and aircraft is that there's been much less innovation for airplanes in the last few decades than there has been for cars.

Aerospace company, Airbus, is looking to change that. Their MAVERIC is not set to fly in the skies anytime soon, but the prospects certainly look promising, and more efficient than current airplane models. 

MAVERIC

You may have noticed that most aircraft have a similar design: a single or double aisle long fuselage that has wings attached on either side. There are exceptions, of course, namely when it comes to military aircraft. 

Airbus' New Design That Could Revolutionize Flying as We Know It
The MAVERIC on the tarmac, Source: Airbus

Now, it looks like Airbus has taken a few pages out of the military plane book and turned them into a design for commercial flights. 

SEE ALSO: QANTAS REJECTS BOTH BOEING AND AIRBUS DESIGNS FOR ITS ULTRA-LONG-HAUL FLIGHTS

It's named it the Model Aircraft for Validation and Experimentation of Robust Innovative Controls, or MAVERIC. The MAVERIC features a blended wing body design where there is minimal structural separation between the main body and the wings of the aircraft. 

Airbus' New Design That Could Revolutionize Flying as We Know It
The main cabin of the MAVERIC, Source: Airbus

What's interesting about it is that its design should include more interior space than a regular fuselage plane. Moreover, thanks to its impressive aerodynamics it should bring fuel consumption down by 20%

Airbus' New Design That Could Revolutionize Flying as We Know It
Inside the MAVERIC, Source: Airbus

Airbus is showcasing the MAVERIC, however, don't expect to board it on your next flight, or even the one after that. It's currently just a scale model that spans 2 meters in length and 3.2 meters in width. 

It's still too early to tell whether or not Airbus' innovative design will take off — literally and figuratively — but it certainly opens up the aviation industry into looking at new possibilities once again.

 

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