Don't panic, remain in your seats!
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Don't panic, remain in your seats!
Ottawa issues patent for jet with escape pods
Laser would sever plane in two
Michael Friscolanti
National Post
Monday, March 01, 2004
The federal government has issued a patent for a new type of commercial jet that, in the event of engine failure or a terrorist attack, would launch passengers to safety inside sealed escape pods.
The elaborate invention calls for each capsule to be equipped with parachutes, propulsion jets and inflatable rafts. Add the mandatory shock absorbers, and people will be able to "safely remain in their seats during this operation without panic," according to a synopsis of the device submitted to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
Although dismissed by leading aviation experts, the inventor insists the idea is a worthy alternative to the status quo of buckling up, clutching a pillow and putting your head between your legs.
"The invention provides a logical way of supporting the collective weight of all the passengers such that many lives can be carried and saved," the submission reads.
Issued on Feb. 17, the patent describes a chain of events that would begin as soon as the pilot realized something was wrong -- anything from mechanical problems to a missile attack.
A push of a button would trigger an explosion or an automated "laser cutting" device, which would sever the plane in two at the point where the cockpit meets the cabin.
At the same time, the passenger cabin would be split into a number of sealed compartments that would be expelled through the newly formed hole in the plane.
The patent owner, Chui Wen Chiu, could not be reached for comment yesterday, so it is unclear whether any aerospace design company is interested in developing his invention.
However, other aviation experts who examined the paperwork said the idea will likely remain just that. Other inventors have offered similar ideas for decades, they said, but apart from being adopted in a few small airplanes, the concept has been repeatedly rejected.
"Philosophically, I'm not inclined to ridicule that guy's invention, because anything that can offer hope to passengers and crew in an aircraft in mortal danger would be welcome no matter how far-fetched it might be," said James DeLaurier, a professor at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies.
"But what if something short-circuited, and all of a sudden your airplane is being cut apart by a laser midway over the Atlantic? This would ruin your trip."
Mechanical glitches are not the only things keeping the invention grounded. Experts estimate the extra weight -- from the parachutes to the capsule doors to the lasers -- would leave only enough room for a few passengers, if any.
"Nobody would buy a ticket on an airplane that had that, because the extra charge would be out of this world," said Dan Raymer, a renowned aerospace design expert and author of the best-selling textbook Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach.
And even if the plane did manage to take off, the parachutes would probably not be able to carry the weight of the capsules, said Brian E. Thompson, the chair in Engineering Design Innovation at the University of Western Ontario.
Dr. Thompson also doubts a pilot would have enough time to activate the escape plan because most airline accidents occur just after takeoff and just before landing.
"If you listen to most fatal aircraft accidents, the pilots don't realize they are actually going to lose the aircraft until they're almost driving into the ground."
© National Post 2004
Laser would sever plane in two
Michael Friscolanti
National Post
Monday, March 01, 2004
The federal government has issued a patent for a new type of commercial jet that, in the event of engine failure or a terrorist attack, would launch passengers to safety inside sealed escape pods.
The elaborate invention calls for each capsule to be equipped with parachutes, propulsion jets and inflatable rafts. Add the mandatory shock absorbers, and people will be able to "safely remain in their seats during this operation without panic," according to a synopsis of the device submitted to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
Although dismissed by leading aviation experts, the inventor insists the idea is a worthy alternative to the status quo of buckling up, clutching a pillow and putting your head between your legs.
"The invention provides a logical way of supporting the collective weight of all the passengers such that many lives can be carried and saved," the submission reads.
Issued on Feb. 17, the patent describes a chain of events that would begin as soon as the pilot realized something was wrong -- anything from mechanical problems to a missile attack.
A push of a button would trigger an explosion or an automated "laser cutting" device, which would sever the plane in two at the point where the cockpit meets the cabin.
At the same time, the passenger cabin would be split into a number of sealed compartments that would be expelled through the newly formed hole in the plane.
The patent owner, Chui Wen Chiu, could not be reached for comment yesterday, so it is unclear whether any aerospace design company is interested in developing his invention.
However, other aviation experts who examined the paperwork said the idea will likely remain just that. Other inventors have offered similar ideas for decades, they said, but apart from being adopted in a few small airplanes, the concept has been repeatedly rejected.
"Philosophically, I'm not inclined to ridicule that guy's invention, because anything that can offer hope to passengers and crew in an aircraft in mortal danger would be welcome no matter how far-fetched it might be," said James DeLaurier, a professor at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies.
"But what if something short-circuited, and all of a sudden your airplane is being cut apart by a laser midway over the Atlantic? This would ruin your trip."
Mechanical glitches are not the only things keeping the invention grounded. Experts estimate the extra weight -- from the parachutes to the capsule doors to the lasers -- would leave only enough room for a few passengers, if any.
"Nobody would buy a ticket on an airplane that had that, because the extra charge would be out of this world," said Dan Raymer, a renowned aerospace design expert and author of the best-selling textbook Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach.
And even if the plane did manage to take off, the parachutes would probably not be able to carry the weight of the capsules, said Brian E. Thompson, the chair in Engineering Design Innovation at the University of Western Ontario.
Dr. Thompson also doubts a pilot would have enough time to activate the escape plan because most airline accidents occur just after takeoff and just before landing.
"If you listen to most fatal aircraft accidents, the pilots don't realize they are actually going to lose the aircraft until they're almost driving into the ground."
© National Post 2004
This reminds me of what my mother, god rest her soul, said some years ago when she learned that my car had been stolen.
She proposed concealed cyanide tanks behind the sun visors, such that "when the car was stolen" (identified by some undetermined process) they would discharge and "deal with that sort of person once and for all".
When I explained it was as likely they would malfunction occasionally and gas me as I was innocently driving along, she said she hadn't thought of that.
She proposed concealed cyanide tanks behind the sun visors, such that "when the car was stolen" (identified by some undetermined process) they would discharge and "deal with that sort of person once and for all".
When I explained it was as likely they would malfunction occasionally and gas me as I was innocently driving along, she said she hadn't thought of that.
stilljustanothernumber
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"But what if something short-circuited, and all of a sudden your airplane is being cut apart by a laser midway over the Atlantic? This would ruin your trip."
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some nut always comes up with a scheme involving passenger aircraft and big-ass parachutes. The last one I saw involved ejecting the flight crew and first-class cabin only (ostensibly for cost reasons -- those parachutes weigh a ton).
The crackpots who cook these schemes up don't bother to look at A) commercial aviation accident records, which show that most of them could not benefit from parachutes, B) military aviation records, which show that the record of ejection seats in accidents of the type that commercial transport aircraft would be involved it are not spotless. C) Actuarial tables, which show in crass economic terms how little gets paid out on those few terrifying events Compare that to the price per airmile of pressurized, ejectable capsules with parachutes. Pardon me?
Air events generate media buzz; the fact that most of what goes on is a non-event doesn't enter in.
The crackpots who cook these schemes up don't bother to look at A) commercial aviation accident records, which show that most of them could not benefit from parachutes, B) military aviation records, which show that the record of ejection seats in accidents of the type that commercial transport aircraft would be involved it are not spotless. C) Actuarial tables, which show in crass economic terms how little gets paid out on those few terrifying events Compare that to the price per airmile of pressurized, ejectable capsules with parachutes. Pardon me?
Air events generate media buzz; the fact that most of what goes on is a non-event doesn't enter in.
Grim Sleeper
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Of course, the added weight of all these fantastic safety devices would probably mean no baggage could be carried. Or passengers. I'm sure the carriers will lap that one up!
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Debris
So whats gonna happen with all of the debris then? in particular if over a crowded urban area??
Stupid suggestion of how to solve the ongoing program of crackpots interefering with our industry.
Stupid suggestion of how to solve the ongoing program of crackpots interefering with our industry.
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Hey, how's about great big springs that can be made to extend from the fuselage in the event of an accident, the cabin can then quite happily bounce along until all the forward momentum is spent, I beleive there is a company by the name of ACME who manufacture something along these lines.
A silly idea, and one that shows all the signs of trying to find a hardware solution to a problem of human software - i.e. politics and psychology.
And frankly, I don't know whether to laugh or cry about that one. Who imagines there would be any passengers in the rest of the aircraft keeping up the load factor? And I'm sure the mob trying to break into the capsule every time there was a spot of turbulence would be fun.
The last one I saw involved ejecting the flight crew and first-class cabin only (ostensibly for cost reasons -- those parachutes weigh a ton).
