Natilus unveils Horizon blended wing body aircraft
October 29, 2024
San Diego startup Natilus has unveiled its ambitious blended wing body (BWB) aircraft design, with the ‘Horizon’ designed to emit 50% less carbon, provide 40% greater capacity, and be 25% lighter than the traditional tube-and-wing aircraft of today.
“As the aviation industry seeks effective solutions to modernize fleets and enhance sustainability, our dedicated team has invested countless hours developing the Horizon to be a real solution and to fit seamlessly into existing airport operations,” explained Natilus. Crucially, the aircraft will be engineered to be compatible with existing airport gate operations and infrastructure.
The passenger-carrying Horizon (with capacity for up to 200) builds on the company’s first BWB design, the short-haul cargo ‘Kona’ concept, which will carry a payload of 3.8 metric tons in its proprietary diamond-shaped cargo bay in the aircraft’s nose. Its range is stated as around 900 nautical miles.
However, Natilus is not the only blended-wing concept seeking to adopt an entirely new aircraft architecture. In 2020, Airbus unveiled its ‘Maveric’ blended-wing concept, with its remote-controlled scale model developed as part of its Airbus UpNext project. “Maveric’s blended wing body configuration is a potential game changer… and we’re keen to push the technology to the limit”.
The US Air Force, in collaboration with JetZero and Northrop Grumman, is also evaluating the BWB concept; with the latter explaining that “several military transport configurations may also be possible with BWB aircraft, offering the ability to move forces and cargo quickly, efficiently and over long distances”.
