Why is it that most current airliners are just variations on a theme? Mid wing, podded engines, cruise around M0.8.
Would airlines (and pax) be willing to operate radical designs. I'm specifically talking about oblique wing designs (sometimes known as Slew or Scissor wings)
The potential benefits of oblique wings are weight, fuel consumption and most of all speed. They have been designed so that over land they will have a mid sweep(30deg) and cruise at M1.2-1.3 at 36,000ft, at which level the over pressure is not great enough for the shock wave to reach the ground. The over water the sweep is increased and cruise increased to M1.4-1.5.
This is very technically feasible, but is it realistic?
Why aren't commercial aircraft high wing like military transports such as the C-17 and various Russian beasts? Surely it is a more efficient structure having a full span wing as well as not having to have a whacking great spar box in the cabin.
Good website about this