Windowless plane prepares for take off

Displays exterior environment on inside surfaces of cabin via external cameras

French design agency Technicon Design has released renderings showing its proposed Ixion Windowless Jet, a private jet that is completely devoid of windows in its fuselage. In their place, screens would line the interior of the cabin, showing panoramic views of the scene outside.

Windowless plane idea from Technicon Design - Internal view
A glorious view of Paris by night from any seat

External cameras would be used to capture real-time, 360-degree views of the space around the plane. The pictures would then be beamed back onto the display panels, giving passengers the feeling that they’re flying in a transparent vehicle.

Should the aircraft be flying through a boring setting, passengers could request that the scenes on display be changed to show film footage, video conferencing interfaces or various other forms of imagery.

Technicon Design states that removing windows from aircraft will reduce their weight, thus reducing fuel and maintenance costs and giving designers greater opportunities to enhance and beautify their interiors.

Windowless plane idea from Technicon Design - External view
Every passenger could enjoy the view

Gareth Davies, the Design Director at the company, said: “The ethos of the project is simple, to challenge current thinking, and propose something a little different, but not just a fantasy. It has to be credible and relevant, yet provoke discussion.

“The user experience is greatly enhanced by directly engaging the passengers with the environment outside, to the point of exhilaration by giving an unhindered panoramic view from the inside.”

There are no firm plans to built their proposed jet as yet, but with other firms similarly enthusiastic about the development of windowless planes their development might just be a matter of time.

US-based engineering firm Spike Aerospace is aiming to launch commercial supersonic (Mach 1.6-1.8) flights in 2018 and expects its aircraft will be able to fly from London to New York in less than four hours. The company expects the aircraft to be built without windows for much the same reasons as those given by Technicon Design. Spike Aerospace planes, too, would feature thin screens that could display surrounding vistas or screen films and work presentations.

N.B. Images: Technicon Design