Chuck Darwin<p>Efficiency gains from engines will still be vital for the industry.</p><p>The most marked change in the appearance of <a href="https://c.im/tags/engines" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>engines</span></a> could be the return of the open <a href="https://c.im/tags/propeller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>propeller</span></a>. </p><p>The design dispenses with the <a href="https://c.im/tags/nacelle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>nacelle</span></a> <br>– the cover <br>– to allow for a bigger fan that offers more propulsive force. </p><p>Superficially, it will look like existing turboprop engines, <br>but with the ability to fly at Mach 0.8, or 80% of the speed of sound <br>– the same as current jet engines.</p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/CFM" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CFM</span></a>, a joint-venture between America’s General Electric and France’s Safran, has said that its open fan <a href="https://c.im/tags/Rise" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Rise</span></a> engine could theoretically reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 20%. </p><p>The company says it can reduce noise, which put paid to a previous prototype in 1986. </p><p>It will still have to persuade regulators and passengers that the engines will be safe if a blade breaks in midair.</p><p>As well as radical changes to airframes or engines, manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to salami-slice <a href="https://c.im/tags/fuel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>fuel</span></a> burn via small gains.</p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/Winglets" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Winglets</span></a>, the curved tips of wings, were first introduced in the 1970s in response to the then oil crisis, <br>mimicking birds’ wings to reduce drag. </p><p>The split winglets on the 737 family since 2014 can reduce fuel burn by as much as 2% during a long journey, according to the Seattle-based manufacturer Aviation Partners. </p><p>(For plane-spotters, they double as the easiest way to distinguish a 737 from an A320.)</p><p>Birds have had millennia to evolve the ideal features for efficient flight, <br>so aviation designers have constantly used them for inspiration. </p><p>Airbus is experimenting with <a href="https://c.im/tags/gust" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>gust</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/sensors" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sensors</span></a> on the front of the aircraft to register during turbulence, <br>with automatic responses from control surfaces of the wing, <br>similar to a bird’s constant adjustments to movements in the air.</p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/Concorde" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Concorde</span></a>, which flew on only a limited number of routes, was the last passenger plane in service with a truly distinctive design. </p><p>The supersonic jet, which had swept-back, delta wings, was retired in 2003. </p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/Boom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Boom</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Supersonic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Supersonic</span></a>, a startup, is testing the technologies for a proposed “son of Concorde” with a similar look.</p><p>That plane would only ever be a niche service, flying 80 passengers at a time on premium routes. </p><p>But there is a possibility that Boeing and Airbus take radically different approaches to the workhorses that carry billions of passengers each year.</p><p>If the manufacturers go in different directions, then passengers might start paying serious attention to plane design, says Addison Schonland, an analyst who tracks the industry at AirInsight.</p><p>“I don’t think we’ve ever had a situation before, to look at an aeroplane and say, ‘that’s completely different’,” he says. </p><p>“How will people react to seeing those novel shapes?”</p><p>(3/3)<br> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Airbus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Airbus</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/JetZero" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JetZero</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Delft" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Delft</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/University" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>University</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/McKinsey" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>McKinsey</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/fuel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>fuel</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/efficiency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>efficiency</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Boeing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Boeing</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/truss" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>truss</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/transonic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>transonic</span></a></p>