The Plane That Looks Nothing Like a Plane: How a Radical New Shape Could Change the Sky
For a century, the sky has been filled with variations of the same familiar shape: a long, narrow tube with wings stuck on the sides. It is a design that works, but as the world grapples with a climate crisis, a pressing question emerges: is the classic airplane shape holding us back?
A small company in San Diego believes the answer is yes. And they are betting everything on a radical, futuristic design that looks less like a conventional airliner and more like a stealth bomber, promising to slash emissions and redefine what it means to fly.
The aircraft is called the Horizon. Its body and wings are seamlessly merged into a single, wide, and graceful form. This is not a minor tweak; it is a complete reimagining of the passenger jet. The company behind it, Natilus, claims this “blended wing body” can use 30% less fuel and produce 50% fewer emissions per passenger than the workhorse jets of today, the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.
In an industry where progress is often measured in tiny, incremental gains, the Horizon represents a potential revolution.
The Problem with the Tube
The urgency for change is clear. Aviation emissions have been rising rapidly, outpacing those from cars, trucks, and ships. The industry’s great hope for a cleaner future is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a biofuel that can cut flight emissions by up to 80%. But in 2024, SAF accounted for a meager 0.3% of all jet fuel. The supply is nowhere near what is needed.
This has forced engineers to look elsewhere for solutions. What if the problem isn’t just what powers the plane, but the very shape of the plane itself?
“The narrow body market, which is exactly where the Horizon fits in, is going to be the biggest market over the next 20 years,” says Aleksey Matyushev, CEO and co-founder of Natilus. He sees a unique moment of opportunity, driven by airline frustrations with delivery delays from the big manufacturers, to challenge the dominance of Boeing and Airbus.
A Design Born from Challenges
The blended wing concept isn’t entirely new. Its origins trace back to the 1990s with McDonnell Douglas (which later merged with Boeing). Boeing itself even studied the idea with an unmanned prototype called the X-48. But they never commercialized it, largely because of a fundamental challenge: stability and control.
“How do you stabilize the airplane?” Matyushev asks, pinpointing the historic hurdle. “I think that’s where McDonnell Douglas and Boeing really stumbled.”
Natilus believes they have solved this puzzle. The company first focused on a smaller, pilotless cargo plane called the Kona, which uses the same blended wing shape. With over 400 orders for the Kona and plans to fly a full-scale model within two years, Natilus aims to prove the technology before applying it to the passenger-carrying Horizon, which they ambitiously target for service by 2030.
The benefits of the shape are profound. The entire aircraft generates lift, not just the wings, leading to a 30% reduction in drag. The structure is also lighter, even while offering more space. “When you put the two together, it starts to create a reduction in emissions per passenger seat by about 50%,” Matyushev explains.
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A Lounge in the Sky? The New Passenger Experience
For travelers, the Horizon promises an experience unlike any other. Stepping inside, you wouldn’t find a long, narrow tube. The interior is a much wider, more open space.
“We have about 30% more floor space than a traditional airplane,” Matyushev says. This opens up thrilling possibilities for airline designers. “Could you bring back the lounge? Are there other spaces in the airplane that you could carve out for those long flights?”
The vision is of a cabin where passengers could move around more freely, perhaps socializing in a dedicated area mid-flight, harkening back to the golden age of air travel but with a futuristic twist.
To manage risk, Natilus is taking a conservative approach where it counts. The Horizon will use existing, proven jet engine technology, rather than unproven hydrogen or electric systems. “There’s a running joke in aviation,” Matyushev notes. “Never put a brand-new engine on a brand-new airplane. That’s too risky.” The plane is also designed to use the same gates and runways as current narrow-body jets, requiring no expensive changes to airport infrastructure.
The Uphill Battle
Despite the promise, the path to the Horizon’s first flight is strewn with challenges. A six-year timeline from design to certified airliner is unprecedented. Gary Crichlow, an aviation analyst, points out that the very novelty of the design is both its greatest strength and its biggest weakness.
Airlines love “commonality” the ability for pilots and crew to easily transition from one plane model to another without extensive retraining. The Horizon, with its completely different flying characteristics and cabin layout, offers none of that.
“Avoiding that operational headache, and supporting when it happens, reliably and at scale, is probably the biggest challenge that Natilus will face in convincing potential customers to buy the Horizon instead of holding out for a more traditional replacement,” Crichlow explains.
Every new aircraft has teething problems. For a new manufacturer with a radical, unproven design, those problems will be magnified. Convading airlines to bet their fleets on this unknown quantity is the monumental task ahead.
Yet, the Horizon represents a bold and necessary dream. It is a tangible vision of a future where the skies are quieter, cleaner, and more intriguing. As one of the most visible shapes of our modern world prepares for a transformation, the Horizon is not just a new airplane. It is a question posed to the entire industry: are we ready to finally leave the tube behind?
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