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Solar-Powered Mega-Jet Would Accommodate 800


Six hydrogen fuel engines would be necessary to power the zero-emissions Progress Eagle

Designer Oscar Viñals recently unveiled his concept designs for Progress Eagle, a futuristic mega-jet for long-haul journeys.

As his Behance page explains, his goal for the project was to depict safe, high-performing, and environmentally friendly transport. To achieve this, his design take into account this century's "future advanced technologies," particularly those in the field of quantum mechanics, with "ambits like nanoparticle properties and applications, [and] knowledge [of] subatomic particles."


The three-deck plane would accommodate 800 passengers, feature six hydrogen fuel engines (five superconductive ones and a "central screw-type engine" at the rear for thrust), and have wings covered in hexagonal solar panels.

Once the Eagle reaches cruising altitude, the rear engine would be turned off and used as wind turbine, which-in combination with energy from the solar panels-would continue powering the plane. The result, Viñals suggests, would be a quiet, zero-emission airliner (even able to offload any excess stored energy upon landing).

The Eagle's proposed wingspan measures a mighty 314 feet (with an optional wing-folding feature for snug airports), besting the Airbus A380's 262 feet. And while the Airbus weighs over 300 tons when empty, the Eagle would, Viñals imagines, be constructed from lightweight materials like aluminum, ceramics, titanium, and carbon fiber, contributing to its efficiency.


Viñals, who has also envisioned various space vehicles (and one commercial space port), made waves a year ago with his designs for another and not-dissimilar mega-jet. Called the Sky Whale, it boasts self-repairing wings, large passenger windows, room for 755 passengers, and even the capability for vertical take-offs.

At the time, MIT aeronautics and astronautics professor Mark Drela commented to the BBC that, when it comes to proposing a viable new plane type, the Sky Whale's eye-catching design doesn't make up for its impracticalities: "The airplane fuselage is a pressure vessel. It really needs a circular cross section for that," he explained. "You don't see scuba diving tanks that are rectangular [...the Sky Whale is] more of a stylistic concept."


A number of concept designs for tomorrow's planes have emerged recently, suggesting innovations that are, perhaps, less drastic than Progress Eagle's, and meant for a nearer future. These propose everything from as interactive, wall-covering screens and windowless cockpits to vast private cabins for the most luxurious travelers.

It seems likely, in any case, that changes to commercial aircraft are coming at speed, and that, when those next-generation vehicles touch down, we may be unable to recognize them.