Windowless aircraft

Phil_Lives

http://www.uk-cpi.com/news/the-windowless-cabin-with-a-view/

Cheaper to build lighter aircraft with lower fuel costs and less danger of metal fatigue.

There is talk elsewhere of removing the windows from the cockpit and moving it down further in to the nose to free up passenger space so the future of aircraft may be as it currently is; a big metal tube with wings except more so.

notharrypotter

The proposals include a suggestion from a Spanish university for a windowless cabin. Despite the impact on passengers who prefer a window seat, the designers have found that an aircraft constructed this way would be more eco-efficient, Airbus said.

Its an old idea.

Phil_Lives

old idea but use of internal floor to ceiling displays showing the outside might just make it a bit more acceptable to the flying public

With these changes a plane with the footprint the size of 737-800 could be carrying 200 passengers with more interior space and enough fuel to hop the Atlantic. Would be cool to see the northern lights shimmering on the northern inside wall of a plane as you flew to America.

Tenger

Phil_Lives wrote: »

o.....Would be cool to see the northern lights shimmering on the northern inside wall of a plane as you flew to America.

Cooler still to look out the cockpit window and see them in person!

Phil_Lives

You are going to invite the passengers in to the cockpit one by one?

Tenger

Phil_Lives wrote: »

You are going to invite the passengers in to the cockpit one by one?

No pax allowed in cockpit anymore. Although I do remember a kids flight to Lapland back in 1999...on the flight up we were able to have every pax up in the cockpit row by row. (approx 4 hour flight I I remember correctly)

Phil_Lives

Tenger wrote: »

No pax allowed in cockpit anymore.

exactly.

Chris_5339762

I still am surprised noone has built an all glass aeroplane (or see through plastic). Wouldn't that be great.

Tenger

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

I still am surprised noone has built an all glass aeroplane.........Wouldn't that be great.

Tailstrikes would be a lot more fun!!

As for projecting images onto the cabin......in my experience on night flights the vast majority of people are asleep.

billie1b

Do Virgin have an aircraft with a see through floor or was that a spoof ? Think I read it around April sometime!

amen

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

I still am surprised noone has built an all glass aeroplane (or see through plastic). Wouldn't that be great.

Ahh yes you get to see the cargo, bags, plumbing for toilets, wiring, insulation to keep you warm, ac dcuts etc

Irish Steve

amen wrote: »

Ahh yes you get to see the cargo, bags, plumbing for toilets, wiring, insulation to keep you warm, ac dcuts etc

And for a lot of people, they'd be more than a little concerned when they discovered just how little there really is between inside and outside. The apparent thickness of the fuselage is really misleading, in that most of that thickness is the ribs, not the skin, but we won't go there in case people start getting nervous, there's already plenty of people who are reluctant travellers as it is.

Yes, I know, the best view in the house is seat 0A, but getting there on most aircraft is no longer easy, and since 9/11, 0C (the jump seat) is not accessible like it used to be, but we won't go there either.

lintdrummer

I can't see this ever happening. Mainly because if an aircraft was windowless and there was a CIDS fault or whatever would be controlling the screens/cameras then you could be left in a precarious situation with no way for pax/crew to see outside (apart from cockpit windows). There would be no natural light and in an emergency situation all of this would be disastrous.
As it is you can't close the window blinds at takeoff or landing so the aircraft would be grounded if the panels failed.
As for the opposite of the completely or majority transparent fuselage, there are infinitely more reasons why that could never happen.

Phil_Lives

How do you get an edge on your competitors:
lower cost and greater capacity; this potentially offers both.
If the differences in cost are shown to be about 3% then the next fuel crunch will force airlines to do what was previously unthinkable.
Note other posters think that undersea trains are an inevitability where passengers would be enclosed in dark tunnels for as long as a short flight.
Give the Customer an option of travelling for 90mins in a well lit cabin with no natural light or travelling in a train for 4 or 5 hours then they'll chose the plane.

owenc

Irish Steve wrote: »

And for a lot of people, they'd be more than a little concerned when they discovered just how little there really is between inside and outside. The apparent thickness of the fuselage is really misleading, in that most of that thickness is the ribs, not the skin, but we won't go there in case people start getting nervous, there's already plenty of people who are reluctant travellers as it is.

Yes, I know, the best view in the house is seat 0A, but getting there on most aircraft is no longer easy, and since 9/11, 0C (the jump seat) is not accessible like it used to be, but we won't go there either.

Oh I know. You can feel the cool air when sitting at a window and its pretty obvious why its cool.

We have a private plane and the whole thing has a skin about the thickness of a nail.

Alun

The day they remove windows from planes will be the day I stop flying. I always try to sit in a window seat, even one seat away and I'm feeling a bit nervous, let alone in the middle of a wide body plane.

fr336

billie1b wrote: »

Do Virgin have an aircraft with a see through floor or was that a spoof ? Think I read it around April sometime!

April 1st?