Engineering On The Edge

While most recent aircraft innovations have either focused on interior space or fuel efficiency, we haven’t seen much in the way of changes to the basic look of the passenger airplane. Airbus, however, is tinkering with the model, as evidenced by some sketches for a double-fuselage aircraft the company recently released after being awarded a patent on the design.

The design incorporates two parallel fuselages, with a turboprop engine and a “twin forward-swept wing configuration.” The construction decreases structural weight and reduces fuel consumption, according to the company, in addition to just looking bizarre.

Boeing evidently patented a similar design back in 1979; however, there have been twin-fuselage planes in non-passenger settings. The F-82 Twin Mustang was a twin-fuse plane produced for the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War; it was based loosely on an experimental German aircraft, the Bf 109Z Zwilling.

Of course, Airbus was only just awarded the patent; it’s unlikely we’ll see anything like it in the sky any time soon. Except maybe for these two fellows in tandem lawnchairs, who are planning to launch from Bend, OR, on July 14.

You can view a brief video of the F-82 in action below:

Source: Aviation Week