If you see a person on top of your plane, it won’t be your very own nightmare at 20,000 Feet, it will be by design. Meet the Skydeck.
Put forth by the aerospace engineering company Windspeed Technologies, Skydeck concept puts a semi-external dome on the top of a plane. From behind the glass shield, travelers will be able to see the surrounding skies with a 360-degree view.
Windspeed sees the experimental creation as a potential piece of in-flight entertainment that can be installed on everything from luxury aircraft to commercial airliners. Forget the in-flight film, you can watch the clouds pass you by at 550 miles per hour.
The designs don’t just encompass the seats in the sky, but the method of putting passengers up there, as well. The designers envision either a staircase (to heaven?) or the visually sleeker option of an elevator platform that raises riders up into their throne in the wild blue yonder.
Not everyone would be able to enjoy the incredible views, of course; Windspeed’s concept only encompasses up to two seats that pivot to provide a full range of view.
Adding the human periscope seems like a simple change, but some engineers expressed concern that there could be interference with the plane’s tail behavior. Studies and wind tunnel tests have alleviated some of those concerns, showing a teardrop canopy like the Skydeck with an optimum height wouldn’t add additional drag due to its positioning, and won’t require extra fuel needs.
H/T DesignBoom | Screengrab via Windspeed Technologies/YouTube