A year ago we told you the story of Otto Aerospace and its Phantom 3500, a windowless plane that aims to turn its walls into a panoramic view to the outside. As counterintuitive as it may sound, the company has had an idea: that on a plane without windows we can see better than ever what is around us when we fly.
A year later, the project has been taking shape
Otto Phantom 3500. Otto Aerospace’s Phantom 3500 is a project that should begin to come together next year. Last year we told you This curious project that aims to fill the fuselage of the plane with screens, eliminating all traces of windows.
They called this concept Super Natural Vision, a system of screens that should show the outside in real time thanks to the use of cameras. This futuristic concept has, according to the company, the advantage of improving aerodynamics and thus the consumption of the device but also of simplifying the construction of the fuselage, saving costs.
What’s new? To begin with, if you have entered the previous link you will have seen that the company has changed its name and is now no longer called Otto Aviation. Now, the company has adopted the name Otto Aerospacewhich gives an idea that its objective goes far beyond commercial transportation medianet private jets.
But the most important thing is that the company has reached an agreement with flexjetwho operate huge fleets of private jets, to make the Phantom 3500 part of their fleet. The agreement contemplates a firm order for 300 aircraft and deliveries starting in 2030. It has not been made public how much the purchase figure is, which Yes, it is estimated in specialized media that the plane will cost about 19.5 million of dollars per unit but there is no confirmed figure for the purchase package of 300 aircraft of this type.
Is it possible? According to its creators, of course. And with the purchase of 300 airplanes ahead, it had better be so, they will say at Flexjet. According to the company, the first flights of this private jet will begin in 2027 with a view to approval by US regulators.
In his statement, Flexjet points that the purchase of 300 units of this device is one of the largest that has been recorded in private aviation and that it will serve to redefine what it means to fly using a service of this type.
Can it be approved?. When launching this project, there is an important question that Otto Aerospace will have to answer. If you want to deliver the first planes in 2030, yes, you should have it under control.
To approve an airplane, the Code of Federal Regulations of the US Government points out that “each emergency exit must have means that allow viewing the conditions outside the exit when it is closed.” That is, there must be a window or a reliable system that guarantees viewing of the outside without problems.
And isn’t it very expensive? The other big question that Otto Aerospace will have faced is the issue of how much to fill the entire fuselage with screens. And to do this you will have to use high-quality flexible panels with a connection to your external cameras that is fast enough to not generate any type of dizziness as a consequence of a possible lag between the image and the movement of the vehicle.
Likewise, filling the plane with screens also entails a cable management problem that will multiply compared to any other type of system and will add weight to the whole. Yet, The company claims to reduce consumption by half of fuel from other private jets that are currently in operation.
Photo | Otto Aerospace
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