Planes Without Windows Could Be In The Future
Traveling is truly a unique experience. Especially if you are sitting in the window seat. Being able look out the aircraft windows and see the clouds or looking down at all the sights below while cruising at around 40,000 feet in the air, there’s nothing quite like flying. At Emirates Airline, they understand how exhilarating looking out the window can be. So, they decided to change the game a bit.
In November of 2018, Emirates invited some people to fly in the first-class suite located in the middle of the plane. These passengers were treated to one of the most beautiful sights anyone could see while flying. But it wasn’t through a window. It was on a monitor. According to Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline,
“Projecting fiber-optic cameras from the outside, the quality of the imagery is so good, it’s better than with the natural eye.”
Clark goes on to say that technology has opened up the possibility of building completely windowless airplanes, making flying safer and more efficient without sacrificing the view.
The goal is to be completely windowless in the near future. Because windows interrupt the structure of the aircraft fuselage, they do represent points of vulnerability. They’re also heavier, typically with three plexiglass panes per window. The idea is that without windows, aircraft weight is reduced, allowing them to fly faster and therefore use less fuel to fly higher and farther. Windowless planes also mean more structurally coherent aircraft that produce less drag, also allowing for more efficient flying. And maybe it’ll also make aircraft cheaper to make.
And, British company Centre for Process Innovation has recently developed a digital wallpaper that could project outside views into the aircraft cabin, allowing passengers to choose their own views. It seems like windowless technology is taking strides by making all these test flights. But, as of now, it’s not quite clear when the idea will really take off.
