It's a bird, it's a plane--wait, it's too quiet to be a plane!

Live near an airport?  Are you annoyed by the deafening sounds of takeoff and landing?  Researchers at Cambridge University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working to rectify that. 

The prototype jet, dubbed the “silent jet,” was unveiled by the Silent Aircraft Initiative this Monday in London.  This team, comprised of approximately forty researchers from both Massachusetts institutions, aims to redesign aircraft from the bottom up with a goal of silence.  If all goes as planned, the aircraft will be flying with 215 passengers by 2030.

The MIT-Cambridge team is also hoping to realize Richard Branson’s dream of reducing fuel emissions.  The new aircraft aims to relocate the engines from the wings to the rear-center of the plane.  The researchers predict that the aircraft will travel 149 miles per gallon, compared to 120 in today’s aircraft.  According to the official website, “this is equivalent to the Toyota Prius Hybrid car carrying two passengers.”

So now it’s a matter of time while this aircraft is built.  Naturally, it will need to get certified as well.  The technical challenges have been identified and are slated to be addressed.  It will be interesting to see if this concept becomes reality in the given time frame!

Posted by on 11/08 at 10:38 AM

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