The first concept aircraft by Bell Helicopter has been revealed at Heli-Expo 2017. And the company thinks it could revolutionise the pilot and passenger experience.
Mitch Snyder, Bell Helicopter’s president and CEO, said at the opening ceremony of Heli-Expo that for six months a dedicated team has been looking at how emerging technologies could be incorporated into their products.
“Among that team’s first tasks was to display visually the technologies and innovations that present a roadmap that we envision bringing to market,” Snyder said.
And the company came up with the impressive concept aircraft, known as FCX-001.
So what’s so great about this new aircraft? Well, it includes a passenger cabin enhanced with same augmented reality technology – so while flying, you could catch up on world news, hold a video conference call, share documents with other passengers. Or you could simply watch a film or play music to relax.
One innovation that’s worth noting is there is only one pilot seat – an artificial intelligence computer system assists the pilot in controlling the aircraft.
The airframe, meanwhile, is made from sustainable materials. And here’s what it could look like inside the rotor-craft…
Snyder added that Bell Helicopter will be sharing more of the work going on behind closed doors when the time is right – so keep your eyes peeled for more pioneering developments in the aircraft industry.
