Featured Image Credit: Natilus
A new radically designed aircraft that ‘blends’ the wings into the body of the plane has now been purchased by a Canadian airline.
The aircraft type, which is known as a ‘blended wing body’, could be a glimpse into the future of aviation.
And now, a Canadian airline is looking to expand past its all-Boeing fleet to purchase one.
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The airplane is currently being developed by Natilus, a Californian startup and has been given the name Kona.
It is expected to become a cargo plane which widens in the body the closer it is to the wings and the firm believes that it could reduce fuel use by up to 30%.
On the Natilus website, it read: “Our blended wing aircraft deliver dramatically improved aerodynamic efficiency while also providing a powerful increase in internal volume, translating into less fuel burn, less emissions, higher payloads, and lower operating costs.”
According to the firm, the plane will also have 50% less emissions, 40% more cargo, and will be 25% lighter.
The airline that is eyeing up the Kona is Nolinor Aviation, and speaking to Business Insider, the president of the firm, Marco Prud'Homme, said: “It’ll be like opening a new horizon for us, and we can fly to more places that we couldn’t in the past.
“For example, the 737-200 would be too much capacity for some communities, but a weekly flight with Kona would be perfect.”
He went on to say: “It’s a very costly operation. When we saw their design has the engines mounted at the back of the aircraft, and basically the aircraft becomes the protection for the engines, we saw that this was a great potential for us.”
The businessman added: “Sometimes the problem we have up north is that we bulk out on volume before payload because some of those items are not very heavy, but they take a lot of space.
“Kona has a lot of volume capacity, so that’s interesting for us.”
It is thought that the futuristic looking plane would be able to reach more remote places, including locations in Alaska, India and around Africa.
Aleksey Matyushev, who is the CEO of Natilus, said: “The only way to really connect these mines or remote communities is through air travel. Of course, freight is a huge part of that whole equation.”
It is estimated that the Kona aircraft will begin operation in the early 2030s.
