The next 100 years of flight (With concepts like folding wings)

[PhilOsirus]

In the future it will be possible for aircrafts to morph the shape of their wings in a much more advanced way than mechanical morphing. Through electrical discharges a wing could shorten and tighten, giving it greater speed and the ability to dive or rise at greaters speed. The body of the aircraft could also change shape through the same way in order to become more aerodynamical when needed.

[Fasty]

Cool link. Talking about the future of flight, has anyone seen this?

http://www.moller.com/

[Claymation]

wow, that's cool. THis and the race to put a personal ship into low earth orbit and return make me thing the next 10 years will be very exciting for personal travel

Jay

[iDio is Me]

Morphing planes? Cool... Possible but, no one knows quite how...

Planes that you lay down and sleep in and that put you to sleep - BEttER!!

[CourtJester]

God, how I wish it would happen... but the realities of stupid drivers, bad liability law judgements (in the U.S. at least), government bureaucracy, environmentalism and terrorism (and the various combinations of the last three) do not bode well for the onset of flying cars, IMO. As follows:

1. Do you want that idiot weaving over three lanes on I-15 doing the same in 3 dimensions over your house?

2. Just one crash, just one, and the lawyers will feast. When a car stalls, it just stops, now try that in midair, over your house. And you thought car insurance was expensive...

3. With 1 and 2, imagine the insane government regulation of the industry, and the consequent elimination of innovation (look at the utterly stagnant rail industry in the US, and the FDA's effect on drug costs.) And pilot's licensing for everybody?

4. Greenies are already quite willing to strangulate human activity over what it "might" do (global warming); do you really think they won't have cows over personal aircraft in the stratosphere, even if they are zero-emissions?

5. Do you want to clear security every time you head out for a flight? In the meantime, the already-common phrase "car bomb" will take on a whole new meaning.

Building the things is less than 1% of the problems facing flying cars. :cry: :cry: :cry:

[jackburton]

Really neat concept, I'd be willing to bet there's a prototype already testing somewhere in Nevada;)

Here's Boeing's Phantom Works homepage for anyone interested, some interesting things on there as well-

>Boeing Phantom Works< (http://www.boeing.com/phantom/flash.html)

[klingspor]

I'm pretty sceptical when it comes to these futurustic designs... I still feel we were promised "flying cars in the year 2000" as kids - and where are they today? ;)

Anyway, look at the commercial airliners from the 1960's: They looked more or less exactly like the current offerings from Boeing and Airbus. So I'd be really pleased if they could come up with something a little more "futuristic". After all, this is the 21st century! :shrug:

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