The aircraft of the future, the next-generation device, expected at best in the mid-2030s, is not just a technological and industrial challenge. It is also a political instrument for the entire sector. Scheduled to be carbon neutral by 2050, especially if powered by hydrogen, it also has the task of painting green an industrial sector denounced by environmentalists for its attacks on the climate. Indeed, even if air transport represents less than 5% of global CO2 emissions2, it is he who is pointed out. As a symbol of what should no longer be done.
Problem, the plane of the future is not about to take off. But with the prospect of a device powered by hydrogen engines that will only release water vapor into the atmosphere, manufacturers, such as Airbus, Boeing or Safran, hope to inspire future passengers to better temporarily let distance from environmental constraints.
To produce this type of aircraft, the European aircraft manufacturer wants to proceed in stages. By first building what he calls “an ultra-frugal plane”, says Alain De Zotti, head of aircraft architecture and integration at Airbus. He wants the next aircraft “make a quantum leap in terms of efficiency”, notably “in terms of consumption”. It passes, he adds, “by using less carbon-intensive fuels”. The famous SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) or DAC (sustainable aviation fuel). Fuels that are almost impossible to find today and six to seven times more expensive than kerosene.
“Smart wing”
Still at the drawing board stage, Airbus “works on three main families of improvements” future devices: “aerodynamic efficiency, carbon-free energy and improved air traffic”. Tomorrow, to better penetrate the air, to have more lift and therefore consume less, planes will be equipped with “larger wings, made of composite materials”. One of the devices should be equipped with wings so large that they will, once the plane has landed, fold up so that it can win its parking lot at the airport.
In the future, the fenders will not only be longer, they will also be “variable geometry”points out Mr. De Zotti. “They will change their shape depending on the flight regime. » According to him, we will now have to talk about “smart wing”. In flight, “the camber of the wing will evolve to reduce aerodynamic drag”. She will also change shape “to reduce lift in the event of gusts of wind to reduce the forces supported by the wing”, he explains. A “almost instantaneous change” wings, still plans Airbus, which announces to test “the first generation of these technologies on its long-haul A350”.
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