These days, images of a possible nuclear-powered flying hotel have begun to appear. According to the presentation, it is hoped that this flying hotel can accommodate up to 5000 people and be ready by 2040.
The concept of the giant flying hotel includes restaurants, a shopping center, gyms, a theater and a swimming pool. Hashem Al-Ghaili, who prepared the detailed animation of the huge nuclear-powered aircraft, says it could be the "future of transport."
I do not deny the imagination of Mr Hashem Al-Ghaili, only that what he presented is impossible to achieve, at least according to the details displayed. We are in 2022, a year in which technologists have advanced a lot and in theory we could build anything man imagines.
sky cruise
It's just that in the next 18 years there will be a strong focus on the development of aircraft fuselage, on the propulsion and engine side (no less than 20 engines will provide propulsion for Sky Cruise), on the technology side for the materials used, but and on the ground and air infrastructure side. Or all this is impossible in just 18 years. As I said, it's nice to dream, but sometimes it's good to be on Earth.
And maybe not the technology itself will be the problem, but the authorization and certification of new technologies used, aircraft testing, years of research and simulations, preparation for such a flying colossus. In addition to all the above, let's discuss the financial part. Who will cover the costs for development and construction, infrastructure, etc.? Is anyone willing to invest hundreds of billions of dollars for such a project?
As a parallel, I tell you that the Airbus A380 took 15 years from the idea to the first flight, given that there was already a Boeing 747 that had a top half deck, and the technologies used, many of them, were already approved and tested. The development of the Airbus A380 aircraft cost 11 billion euros at the time.
So it's good to leave the excitement for later and be more realistic!