October 2, 1995. Copyright, 1995, Graphic News. All rights reserved

AIR CRUISER FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
By Nicholas Booth, Science Editor

LONDON, October 2, Graphic News Ñ ÔHigher, faster, soonerÕ has always been the unspoken creed of aviation Ñ but now, says a designer with a revolutionary approach to air travel, it is time to update that for the twenty-first century. ÔMore luxury, less stress and greater freedom of movementÕ promises to be the watchwords for a prototype Air Cruiser proposed by Ogle Design of Letchworth.

The aircraft would effectively be a Ôdouble deckerÕ airliner and provide more space than most existing widebody jets. And if built, says Tom Karen of Ogle Design, it would have more in common with the most luxurious cruise liners than existing airliners.  ÔDesign should be elegant, not only in its concept, but in its execution,Õ he says. Ôand where possible it should stand the test of time.Õ The basic reasoning behind his design is to make air travel as routine and comfortable as train travel is across Europe.

Boarding the aircraft, passengers will walk on with suitcases in hand through a doorway some 2.5 metres (8 feet) across. There wonÕt be troublesome overhead lockers, but individual baggage compartments at a convenient height, running down the centre of the aircraft. Seats would be wider and angled away from the centre to allow greater accessibility. At the rear would be a restaurant where you can eat meals whenever you wanted and in spacious luxury. There would also be male and female toilets, the former having urinals.

Though Ogle Design is best known for product design, Tom Karen studied Aeronautical Engineering at Loughborough before taking up design at an art college. To some extent, his approach to customer comfort is being mimicked by existing aircraft manufacturers. Airbus Industrie is considering a Ôdouble bubbleÕ fuselage for the future whilst Boeing is considering increasing the length of the ÔhumpÕ atop the 747 to double the number of passengers it can carry. KarenÕs design is unusual as both decks are displaced relative to each other, thereby strengthening the airframe but making it lighter overall, thereby enabling more cargo to be carried.

One of the greatest drawbacks of any aeroplane is the ÔlogjamÕ of passengers who can enter or exit at embarkation time. A novel solution employed on the Air Cruiser is a large door in the nose with the cockpit displaced to one side. The aircraft would be roughly the same size as an existing widebody jet and could be moored at conventional airports.

Ogle Design believes that the demographics of future air travel - an aging populace wanting less stress - will make the Air Cruiser attractive to airlines and, if adapted, could be flying by the year 2005.


SOURCES: Ogle Design, Flight International