The future of air travel?

The future of air travel? Three-storey Sky Whale fits 755 passengers, has virtual reality windows and self-healing wings

• Concept vehicle would have wingspan of 88m and seat 755 passengers
• Designer Oscar Viñals said it would split passengers into three classes
• Each would have their own deck in a modern-day version of the Titanic
• Everyone on board would have virtual reality windows for entertainment

By Daniel Bates
PUBLISHED: 09:52 GMT, 15 January 2014 | UPDATED: 11:07 GMT, 15 January 2014

It has three decks, tilting Harrier-style jets and breaks itself up into pieces during a crash landing - and could be the future of air travel.
Called Sky Whale, the concept aeroplane it set to be bigger than an Airbus A380, look like a spacecraft and have 'self-healing' wings that repair themselves.
The aircraft would split passengers into three classes, each with their own deck, in a modern-day version of the Titanic’s strict division of passengers.

Called Sky Whale, the concept plane, pictured, is set to be bigger than an Airbus A380, look like a spacecraft and have 'self-healing' wings. The engines would tilt 45 degrees meaning the plane could land on runways anywhere in the world. It was created by Spanish designer Oscar Vinals

Every passenger would additionally have virtual reality windows to keep themselves entertained on long flights.

The AWWA Sky Whale was created by Spanish designer Oscar Viñals and is so big it was  described by Dvice as looking 'more like something thought up for the Transformers movie franchise than a legitimate aircraft'.
The tilting engines would make it possible for the Sky Whale to take off on the spot - and, according to the plans, if it crashes the passenger section would separate from the wings to reduce the loss of life.
The craft matches advances in technology with a huge capacity of 755 passengers, making it economically viable for an airline.

The plane would seat 755 passengers, making it economically viable for an airline, such as Iberia, pictured in this concept illustration. Passengers would be divided into three classes: 'tourist class', the equivalent of economy, 'tourist class with sky views', or business class, and 'first class'

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The Sky Whale, pictured, would be built out of advanced new materials made up of ceramic or fibre composites. It would also have advanced 'active wings' powered by a hybrid turbo-electric propulsion system making them much more efficient than today

The Sky Whale would have a wingspan of 88m compared to 80m for an Airbus A380 and 64m for a Boeing 747.
The three classes would be ‘tourist class’, the equivalent of economy, ‘tourist class with sky views’, or business class, and finally ‘first class’, which would also have sky views and ‘all conceivable luxuries’.
It is not clear how passengers would be able to look at the view, though given the size of the craft it is likely to have larger windows than those fitted to the back of current plane seat ones.

Those in economy would not be without, though - their windows would be fitted with virtual reality screens so passengers could see whatever they want.

According to Vinals' concept plans, the giant aircraft would be powered by three Harrier-style jets and feature a double fuselage, meaning it could go longer without refuelling. There would also be micro solar cells on the wings that could draw power from the sun

The Sky Whale, pictured top, would have a wingspan of 88m compared to 80m for an Airbus A380, pictured bottom, and 64m for a Boeing 747, pictured in the centre

The Sky Whale would also be longer than current commercial aircraft at 77m. By comparison, the Airbus A380 is 67.9m long while the Boeing 747 is 76m long, pictured

Viñals, who is based in Barcelona, said the Sky Whale would be built out of advanced new materials made up of ceramic or fibre composites.
It would have advanced 'active wings' powered by a hybrid turbo-electric propulsion system making   them much more efficient than today.
The Sky Whale would have a double fuselage meaning it could go longer without refuelling and would have micro solar cells on the wings so that it could draw power from the sun.
According to Viñals, the engines could tilt to up to 45 degrees meaning they could land on tiny runways anywhere in the world.
They would be controlled by a fly-by wire system that is assisted with active sensors located through the plane’s surface.

In addition to being able to land on small runways, the tilting engines would also make it possible for the plane to take off on the spot. These engines would be controlled by a fly-by wire system assisted with active sensors located through the plane's surface

If the Sky Whale has to make a crash landing, the passenger section would separate from the wings to reduce the loss of life. The effect of all the technology is to reduce drag, fuel consumption and weight, making it one of the greenest aircrafts imaginable

Writing about the way the plane could break up, Viñals said: ‘The disposition of the wings and its architecture separates from the airplane’s fuselage like a security measure, that in a hypothetical fatal case of an emergency landing, these could auto-break up to reduce the damages on the passengers section.'
The effect of all the technology is to reduce drag, fuel consumption and weight, making it one of the greenest aircraft imaginable.
In his proposal Viñals said the Sky Whale 'is a concept about the future ‘green’ aircraft designs for the regular airline’s planes of the 21st century…
‘...Is a mixture between today’s airplanes and future concepts based in blended wing body or hybrid wing body architecture.’

Designer Vinals has not announced any plans to build the concept aircraft, pictured

In his proposal Vinals said the Sky Whale 'is a concept about the future 'green' aircraft designs for the regular airline's planes of the 21st century. [It] is a mixture between today's airplanes and future concepts based in blended wing body or hybrid wing body architecture'

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SKY WHALE'S SPECIFICATIONS

Capacity: 755 passengers

Wingspan: 88m

Length: 77m

Decks: 3

Classes: Tourist class with sky views, business class and first class

Other features: Self-healing wings, engines that tilt 45-degrees making it possible to take off on the spot, double fuselage and virtual reality windows.