The Dutch airline KLM is funding the development of a V-shaped aeroplane designed to seat passengers in its wings to make it more fuel-efficient, the company announced Monday.
Its futuristic shape will make the "Flying V" lighter and more aerodynamic, KLM said. Its designers say it will need 20 percent less fuel than an Airbus A350, today's most advanced aircraft.
A prototype version of the plane could be ready as early as this fall, researchers said. But a real-world version of the plane would be unlikely to enter service until at least 2040,according to CNN.
The idea for a sustainable aircraft that holds passengers, cargo, and fuel tanks in its wings started with Justus Benad, who was a student at Berlin's Technical University at the time.
It was further developed by the Delft Technical University in the Netherlands, which is now cooperating with KLM.
(KLM)
Like the advanced Airbus A350, the Flying V will be able to carry 314 passengers and 160 square meters, or 1,722.23 square feet, of cargo, KLM said. It will also have the same wingspan, meaning it can fit the same gates, runways, and hangars.
But the V-shaped plane will be able to travel long-distance flights more sustainably, according to the company.
"The Flying-V is smaller than the A350 and has less inflow surface area compared to the available amount of volume," Roelof Vos, the project leader at TU Delft, said in a statement.
"The result is less resistance. That means the Flying-V needs less fuel for the same distance."
The plane also uses the most fuel-efficient turbofan engines that exist, according to KLM. While the current model still uses kerosene, it can be adapted to use electric turbofans in the future.
(KLM)
The Flying V would help make the Dutch aviation sector meet its sustainability goals, Vos said.
As passengers fly further distances and more often, the sector wants to decrease aviation CO2 emissions by 35 percent by the end of 2030.
"Our ultimate aim is one of emission-free flight," Vos said.
Researchers hope to present their first flying prototype in October, according to TU Delft. The plane will fly at low speeds to test whether the model will remain stable.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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