Flying V', KLM's boomerang-shaped plane, is almost a reality

When an airline, an airplane manufacturer, and one of the most prestigious technological universities in the world unite their minds to create a new airplane, we know that something amazing will come out of it in every way. Aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability are three of the words that come to mind when we talk about the 'Flying V', KLM's boomerang-shaped aircraft, which is almost a reality.

Indeed, as you can see from the photo, it does not have separate wings on either side, but is part of the fuselage as a whole, a kind of boomerang with the engines on top rather than underneath and accommodates passengers all along. This genius of Delft University of Technology and KLM is a futuristic revolution, but if you pay more attention to it, it seems to have all the logic in the world.

With that V-shape what is done is to distribute all the weight of the cargo, the structure, and the passengers inside the wings, therefore there is much less structural material. One of its "advantages" is that it could be built using existing technology already and it can operate perfectly in today's airports: it is not as long as an Airbus A350, but it has the same wingspan. It would carry approximately 314 passengers (the same as the A350), and the same amount of cargo, 160 m3.

Of course, the cabin design will be nothing like the ones we know. The seats will be staggered so that all passengers can face forward, although there is also the possibility of different scenarios, with train-style distribution, with a table in the middle, or folding beds in the most confined spaces near the edge of the wing.

What is being done right now is to test simulation models to really see how it would behave in the air. It has many elements of the Airbus A220, a regional airliner, modeled on the canopy, which is designed for 2 pilots. The floor of the pilot area is 40 cm higher than the cockpit to accommodate the nose wheel under the pilot's seat. There are four large windows in the cockpit so that the pilot can see the whole runway and there is still room for a weather radar on the nose of the aircraft.

Another really important thing is that because of its shape, it has less surface area compared to the volume available, so it exerts less aerodynamic drag. What does this mean? Well, it will need less fuel than the Airbus A350 to fly the same distance. Here we have the link with sustainability.