Its blended wing aircraft is so efficiently streamlined that it has half the emissions of regular jets.
Aerospace startup Natilus is boldly taking on the biggest players in civil aviation, unveiling its plans to build its Horizon Blended Wing Body passenger/cargo liner that can carry 200 passengers from New York to London with 50 percent lower emissions.
The emissions-busting advantage of the blended wing design is that it doesn't have a join between the wing and the fuselage, which greatly reduces drag. Furthermore, the blending of wing and body cleverly shifts some of the task of lifting the aircraft from the wings to the entire plane, creating more lift for less drag.
Natilus wants to develop its blended-wing family with the largest, Horizon, able to carry up to 200 passengers on intercontinental flights with 50 percent less emissions and burning 30 percent less fuel. In addition, it will have 40 percent more volume. That's a lot of positive percentages.
Horizon is expected to be ready for customers early in the 2030s.
"The commercial aviation industry is looking for real solutions to become more sustainable, more efficient, and more profitable," said Aleksey Matyushev, CEO and co-founder of Natilus. "With the Horizon, we're introducing improved aviation economics that benefit the industry while helping safeguard our planet for future generations."