Sustainable air travel technology company SE Aeronautics has unveiled a new widebody airliner concept, a 100 per cent monocoque moulded wide-body airliner that aims to represent “a new generation of aircraft”.
SE Aeronautics, which is based in Alabama, said its new aircraft design—the SE200—will lower fuel consumption by 70 per cent and lower CO2 emissions by 80 per cent, as measured by per seat kilometre.
Aircraft manufacturers have been using the same aircraft design for the past 60 years, with few exceptions, SE Aeronautics said.
The innovative design is a more efficient, light-tri wing configuration that greatly improves lift over drag, resulting in short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities and extremely long flights.
“The construction is all-composite, moulded in one tough, safer piece,” SE Aeronautics’ chief engineer, Lloyd Weaver said in a statement.
“We also incorporated super thin, long wings and complete streamlining from the nose to the tail. We did it all.”
We live in the era where COVID-19 and other airborne disease safety must be at the forefront of any manufacturer’s design process, which is why SE Aeronautics developed a new ‘once-through’ air feed ventilation system that never recirculates air in the cabin, dramatically reducing the risk of exposure from other infected passengers.
This, coupled with their new ‘tilting’ seat design, creates a comfort experience that economy passengers have yet to experience, SE Aeronautics said.
The new design, which its manufacturer described as “disruptive”, is also expected to double the lifespan of an aircraft, while reducing overall block hour cost by half when compared to other aircraft its size.
With an emphasis on safety, the design is made of one solid-moulded piece of fuselage that is many times stronger than existing aircraft, SE Aeronautics claimed.
The fuel is not stored in the wings but in self-sealing bladders on top of the fuselage and in the event of emergency landing over water, the aircraft floats.
SE Aeronautics patent-pending technology has culminated into the SE200, a mid-market widebody aircraft that will carry up to 264 passengers, function as a light-weight regional or long-range airliner with a non-stop range of 10,560 miles (equivalent to 16,994 kilometres).
“This aircraft will be the most practical, profitable and permanent solution to the grossly underperforming airliner technology of today,” SE Aeronautics chief executive Tyler Matthews said in a statement.
“Our manufacturing efficiency will allow us to produce our aircraft in significantly less time than the current traditional method. But the jewel in the crown is really our ability to get that fuel consumption rate down by 70 per cent. We are going to revolutionise the industry.”
With more fuel-efficient planes and a design focused on efficiency, sustainability and safety, SE Aeronautics is aiming to be at the forefront of a new generation of aircraft and a revolution for an industry that has seen little change over the past 60 years.
