Saturday 22 March 2014

Windowless Jet Will Let You Virtually Ride on Top of Clouds


If you've ever wondered what it's like to fly in Wonder Woman's invisible jet, you may soon get a chance to find out.

Spike Aerospace announced plans to launch a windowless supersonic business jet that will feature video displays that take up most of the interior wall space. Outside of the aircraft, an array of cameras will send a live video feed of the exterior to the interior wall screens, giving passengers the experience of riding right on top of clouds.

And while some passengers might be uncomfortable seeing visuals of high-altitude travel from such an immersive perspective, many others will likely jump at the chance to get a never-before-possible window-seat view of the clouds.

Adding to the surreal nature of the experience will be the fact that the flights will travel at supersonic speeds of Mach 1.6 to 1.8. According to Spike Aerospace, this means the company's aircrafts will be able to travel from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just five hours, and New York City to London in just three.

In the concept illustrations depicting what the aircraft's interior will look like, the company also shows off a PowerPoint-style presentation superimposed on top of the outside scenery. Spike Aerospace hasn't gone into great detail on this point, but the graphic (above) indicates that the displays will be somewhat interactive, possibly allowing activities that range from gaming to working on spreadsheets.

But as amazing as that all sounds, consider the virtual-experience possibilities: Imagine the plane's display panels showing the aircraft gradually ascending into space in concert with the aircraft's real-life movements.

Sure, you wouldn't get to experience the weightlessness that a company such as Zero-G offers (and soon, Virgin Galactic, too) with its space-tourism service, but aside from that detail, such a scenario could become a popular way to mix virtual tourism with real-world travel.

According to Wired, the Spike S-512 supersonic jet will cost about $80 million to be ready for its public debut in December 2018.

IMAGE: SPIKE AEROSPACE