The appearance of the airport in 2050 which runway surrounds 360 degrees around "Endless Runway"

The appearance of the future airport which devised a lot of conventional common sense that the runway of an airplane surrounds 360 degrees around the building placed in the center is devised. "Endless Runway"The concept of the airport is considered to be an airport that is more friendly to the environment, to eliminate existing airport problems, with the aid of the European Commission aiming for realization in 2050.

The Endless Runway
http://www.endlessrunway-project.eu/

Circular airport runway concept divides expert opinion | The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/circular-airport-runways-experts-henk-hesselink-netherlands-eu-funding-a7667656.html

This airport concept was devised by teams such as Henk Hesselink of Netherlands Aerospace Center (Netherlands Aerospace Center: NLR) and others in the Netherlands. The runway laid out in a circle has a structure without "end", with an airport facility with multiple terminals at the center and a guideway leading from there to the runway extending like a spoke of a bicycle It is being done.


In fact the image to operate this airport etc. is introduced in the following movie.

Will circular runways ever take off? BBC News - YouTube


The runway is inclined towards the inside, making it possible to travel safely even at the speed of takeoff and landing sliding.


If you look at the aircraft to landing from behind, you will land at such a tilt. It is a little worrisome whether the curved runway and the tip do not contact.


Mr. Hesselink devising this concept and conducting the verification


Hesselink's "annular runway" has several merits.


One of them is that it is possible to jump from anywhere on the 360 ​​° runway.


Therefore, you can fly to the sky from the most suitable position for your destination, so you can save the loss of turning greatly after takeoff.


In addition, by being able to land from any direction on the runway, you will not suffer from crosswinds no matter what kind of wind is blowing.


Mr. Hesselink's team is already proceeding with verification using a flight simulator.


We reproduce the "Endless Runway" on the computer and verify the practicality of the concept by taking off and landing the airplane.


As a result, it was confirmed that three planes could take off and land at the same time at the same time.


The diameter of the annular runway is 3.5 km. That means that the length of the runway is 2πr = 2 (3.5 ÷ 2) × 3.14 = 10.99 km.


And the runway is gently sloping around the whole circumference.


As you run through the runway, pilots and passengers will feel that the aircraft gently turns. But this is the same as when the airplane is turning over the sky.


Also, as the centrifugal force is applied to the aircraft, ...


It seems that the landing aircraft will naturally fall in speed and move toward the inside of the runway.


I think that it will take a lot of power to the aircraft and passengers when traveling on this runway at a speed of about 300 km / h, but it does not seem to have any effect so far. When expressing this runway with "curvature" showing the strength of the curve by the radius, it becomes "R = 1750", but it seems to be said that it is a very large numerical value compared with the highway for automobiles. Furthermore, because it is inclined towards the inside, it is said that it does not become a big problem at the speed which comes out during normal takeoff and landing.


Mr. Hesselink further states that the annular runway has a positive impact on society and the environment.


Jet fuel consumption is expected to be reduced by optimizing the movement within the airport, and by avoiding waste of distance aiming at the destination in the shortest distance.


In addition, it can be expected to alleviate the problem of noise to the surrounding environment.


By being able to set a takeoff direction with high degree of freedom and an intrusion route at landing ......


It is possible to set places to fly according to the surrounding situation · place not to fly.


Now in Europe the movement using airplanes is continuing to expand and it is estimated that in 2050 three times the air traffic in 2017 will occur.


It is a new type airport that has Endless Runway that can respond to such times. A runway of about 11 km in total length corresponds to about 3 existing runways.


And it is considered that it is possible to judge traffic of four normal runways by calculation.


This initiative is supported by the European Commission and is still being studied. However, similar airports were considered as military airports in the 1960s, but there are no examples that have been realized so far.


For this proposal, it is said that pros and cons are divided among experts. "The place where the runway can be used depending on the direction of the wind is limited, so there is not much effect" and the voice such as "The burden on the tire of the airframe and the landing gear changes and the instruments also correspond to the circular runway There is an opinion that it is necessary. " However, Mr. Hesselink says, "When asking the pilot opinions, we will be presented with a number of challenges, but we are doing the verification with all the situations and safety in mind."

From a Dutch aviation safety expert, "Although his idea is very pleasant, it is not realistic, if you try to make it in a perfect circle it will require an extremely large space and a strong sideways for the landing gear In order to land without applying the force of the aircraft, it is necessary to landing by the automatic landing system, which will have an impact on the capacity that the airport can tolerate " There is an opinion that it is doing.

Hesselink said, "The next goal is to actually land the plane, from the beginning it is not necessary to create a completely circular runway," commented on the transition to the next step I am talking. It seems that it will take more than 30 years to answer whether the airport with annular runway will be realized.