Supersonic private jet startup Spike Aerospace is looking to push the aircraft design envelope a bit further, unveiling a new windowless concept that replaces portholes with digital displays.
Only a few months back Spike unveiled its S-512 design, a supersonic 40m long (131ft) passenger jet. Equipped with an 18m (40ft) wingspan the sleek concept, which looking to become the world’s first private supersonic jet, now has a new wrinkle -- its high-tech windows onto the world.
“It has long been known that the windows cause significant challenges in designing and constructing an aircraft fuselage. They require additional structural support, add to the parts count and add weight to the aircraft,” says Spike.
What’s more, aircraft fuselage stippled with portholes have a greater drag coefficient, something Spike Aerospace’s S-512 can’t afford if it’s to shuttle 18 passengers at in excess of 2092km/h (1300mph).
While the S-512’s window replacements are impressive current design don’t provide the ability for passengers to see the world as it appears beneath them. Each screen will display one of a number of prerecorded videos, which, in the end, is pretty cool given the fact that a lot of views out of airplane window can be pretty bland.
Currently, Spike Aerospace is still traversing the regulatory hurdles that preempt the building of a commercial aircraft, however, the company is optimistic that it’ll begin shipping units in December, 2018. According to Spike each plane will cost $80M, a pretty penny for all that speed.
Image Courtesy of Spike Aerospace