Airbus Planning Transparent Planes

goG writes "European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has come up with the idea to build a passenger flight with a completely transparent fuselage. The central body of the aircraft will allow passengers to the see the stars above and city lights below. 'The planes of the future will offer an unparalleled, unobstructed view of the wonders of the five continents — where you will be able see the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower through the transparent floor of the aircraft,' Airbus said while unveiling the concept 'The Future By Airbus' earlier this year."

Comments

Re:This would scare the hell out of me

[Shadow99_1]

I have a fear of falling (and the more likely to my brain falling is the more the fear kicks in), glass or transparent anything that I'd stand, sit, or other hope to hell is going to support me would give me a full blown panic attack...

Btw lots of people tell me it's just a fear of heights, except I'm fine on high things that seem solid and unlikely to fall... A cabin on the top of a 'mountain', won't bother me. A thin metal bar on the edge of a bridge 200 feet overlooking the ground (or water) makes me nervous. The transparent flooring on the upper level of a skyscrapper I once visited was another to have me curled up on the floor...

Re:I for one

[Daniel Dvorkin]

Agreed.

Try going up in a hot-air balloon some time. Being able to see all around you, most of the way below, and a good portion of above -- all at once -- from even a few hundred feet off the ground is really spectacular. I'd expect that at airliner altitudes, it would be even more so. Not as much detail visible on the ground, of course, but the scale of the view would be worth it.

Re:This would scare the hell out of me

[theshowmecanuck]

I've flown on old Bell Huey Helicopters with the doors wide open (I guess the helicopters themselves weren't that old at the time). When the pilot makes a hard turn the whole body goes perpendicular to the ground, and if you are say, on the right side of the helicopter when it is making a right turn, you are stuck to the floor by centrifugal force and are staring straight down at the ground with nothing between you and it but air. A little unnerving at first. And if you happen to be carrying a lot of weight, it is best to hold on to the posts or better yet buckle in to a harness. A buddy of mine almost slid out.

You won't see anything anyway

[gullevek]

What do you want to see at the bottom? Boxes and boxes and more boxes ... and on the top. cables, cables and more cables. See-through-fuselage-my-ass I say.

I see this more a too early 1st April joke ... Unless they magically add some lights, call buttons, etc and make the floor where the seats are connected and the boxes and the boxes contents (aka luggage) transparent there won't be anything more to see anyway.