| Book your ticket, check your bags and get ready to embark on a fascinating trip into the future of flight. Explore the exciting and experimental machines that may soon revolutionize air travel – from giant, triple-deck commercial planes to new subsonic aircraft to amazing flying wings. Through incredible footage, 3-D computer animation and interviews with leading aviation technology experts, take an extreme look at what's to come in the 21st century. Casinos, shops and restaurants on board a plane? On the Airbus A380, those are just some of the possibilities. Nicknamed the "Super Jumbo," the A380 is a luxury cruise liner in the sky. Explore the Airbus factory in France and tour the first life-size models of this humongous aircraft. Then, meet Walt Gillette – the man behind Boeing's Sonic Cruiser, a revolutionary aircraft estimated to take off for the first time in 2010. Using new materials, a unique wing configuration and the most powerful engines available, the Sonic Cruiser will travel at just below Mach 1 – nearly the speed of sound. Get an insider's look at the aircraft that may change mankind's flying experience forever. With the same technology used in many military planes, including the B2 Bomber, Boeing engineers are working to create a "flying wing" aircraft for commercial airline use. Hear from chief engineer Bob Liebeck and his team of designers, and then witness test-flight footage of this cutting-edge machine. Finally, learn about the next frontier of commercial flight – suborbital aircraft – from the company that's already begun booking the flights. Flying into the upper reaches of the atmosphere and achieving speeds of 17,000 mph, these astonishing aircraft would make it possible to go from New York to Tokyo in just two hours! |
