The Future of Flight

Airbus, the same company that designed and built the A380, wants to build a futuristic plane. The plane that they want to build would be a plane that would have a transparent fuselage. I find this somewhat cool and I think it is a good idea. But as I thought about it, I noticed some pros and cons of the design. Airbus's reason for designing a transparent aircraft, is that they want people to see the beauty of the world and its atmosphere. I admit that it would be awesome to fly in the clouds and see what is going on in the atmosphere around you. But having a transparent aircraft, also has its disadvantages. If the plane flew into a thunderstorm, you would be able to see the lightning around the aircraft. To most people that would be frightening. Another thing that would be frightening, is that if the plane banked to make a turn, you would clearly be able to see the ground. Except for these few things, I believe that the Airbus corporation should still design, test, and build the transparent aircraft. They except to enter this aircraft into service in 2050.

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The World's Leader in Aeronautical Engineering

The world's leader in Aeronautical Engineering is the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, also known as NASA. NASA is an execututive branch  agency of the United States government and is responsible for the civilian space program and aeronautics & aerospace research. The National Aeronautical and Space Administration was founded October 1st, 1958 under the National Aeronautics and Space Act. They say their mission statement is to, "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific research and aeronautics research." Some of the things NASA is currently working on is the support & construction of the International Space Station and they are trying to develop a multi-purpose crew vehicle. I believe some of their greatest acheivements is landing a man on the moon and building the space shuttles which have recently been retired.

The World's Largest Commercial Aircraft

The world's largest commercial aircraft, known as the Airbus A380, was manufactured by the European Corporation Airbus which is part of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company.  The aircraft is a double decker, wide body aircraft with four Rolls Royce Trent 900 jet engines. Because of its size, airports have had to modify and improve its facilities to accomedate the aircraft. The A380 has a height of 80.2 feet, a length of 238.6 feet, and a wingspan of 261.6 feet. The plane has the ability to seat a total of 2,022 passengers and can fly at a speed of 587 mph. The Aircraft is composed of advanced materials. The wing of the aircraft is composed of carbon-fiber, glass-fiber and quartz-fiber reinforced plastics and the planes central wing box is composed of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic. The aircraft also has a aluminum-glass-fiber laminate which is lighter, has better corrosion resistence and has better impact resistence than the than the usual aluminum alloys. Newer weldable aluminum alloys are used in the aircrafts design to eliminate rivets which results in a lighter and stronger structure. The A380 is the most technologically advanced aircraft and the world's largest aircraft.

B-2 Spirit

The B-2 Bomber may be the most feared bomber in the world today. This is due to the fact that it is invisible to radar due to its stealth technology, silent unless it is right over you, can carry many thousands pounds of bombs, and it has the ability to carry nuclear weapons. The stealth technology of the B-2 bomber includes a special paint that hinders a radar's ability to detect aircraft, it's shape is designed to deflect radar waves, and the its engines are designed to decrease its heat signiture.  But one reason this aircraft is so special is because of its design. The B-2 bomber is known as a flying-wing bomber due to the fact that it has no tail to stabalize the aircraft. Normally, a plane without out a tail would be out of control. The B-2 does not do this because it has a computer system to account for the missing tail which ensures the bomber stays stabalized in the air. The final reason the B-2 Bomber is such a great aircraft is due to the fact that the aircraft can takeoff from the United States, perform their mission overseas, and then land back in the United States in one trip without needing to land. A trip like that would take 16 hours to complete. If they needed fuel, they could refuel in the air. These are the reasons the B-2 Bomber is the most feared bomber in the world.

The Definition of Aeronautical Engineering

Aeronautical Engineering is a branch of the major, Aerospace Engineering. Aerospace Engineering is primarily involved with the design, construction, and the application of Science behind the forces and the physical properties of aircraft. Along with aircrafts, Aerospace Enginnering deals with rockets, flying objects and spacecrafts. The Aerospace Engineering field also deals with the aerodynamic characteristics and behaviors, airfoil, control surfaces, lift, drag and other properties of aircraft. As for Aeronautical Engineering, it is the study, design, and manufacturing of flight-capable objects such as aircraft and rockets that stay in Earth's atmosphere. Aeronautical Engineering mainly deals with aerodynamics which is the physical science that deals with the motion of air and how an object like an aircraft interacts with the air.