未来空中机场让旅客空中转机就像搭巴士一样！sky airports-图

近日，国外出现了名为「空中机场」(flying airports)的全新概念，它在空中来回飞行、不着陆；一般飞机从地面机场起飞后，可适时降落在空中机场，等到目的地快到了，再自行飞走，这将让空中运输更有效率，且能节省燃料。

随着空中科技的进步，人们开始思考该如何有效率地载运更多的乘客，在空中巴士A380之后，近日出现了「核能空中机场」(Nuclear-powered flying airports)的全新慨念，就像海面上的航空母舰一般，它提供众多一般型飞机停放，且一直飞在空中，永不着陆。

若把一般飞机想成乘客，空中机场就像是空中的特快车，乘客不需要从头坐到尾，而是到达自己的目的地就可以先行下车；众多飞机从各地起飞后，可以依各自状况、空中机场的所在位置，适时地降落在空中机场上，开始搭乘特快车。

降落在空中机场上的飞机们，若快要到了该班飞机的降落目的地，就可准备从空中起飞，降落到预定的地面机场；另一方面，对人们来说，空中机场像是转运站，人们将搭乘某一班机到达空中机场，等到快到达目的地时，再换搭另一班将降落该目的地的飞机到达地面。


国外近日出现「空中机场」(flying airports)的全新概念，将让空中运输更有效率，且能节省更多燃料消耗。 （图／撷取自网路）

巨型空中机场预计一次可载运3000名乘客，且不用担心没有燃料，因为它是透过核能产生动能，目前的设想为，让它从美国洛杉矶开始，途中行经芝加哥、纽约到英国伦敦​​，穿越整个欧洲，然后再回程。

根据推算，由于空中机场飞行更快，因此将能将人们的空中搭机时间缩短，且能节省一般飞机的燃料，以600英哩航程来看，将可节省40％的燃料，若6000英哩的航程，将可节省高达80％的燃料。

虽然目前仍在发想阶段，还不确定是否有此需要，不过，若此概念未来真的实现，将改变整个世界现行的空中运输方式。


Sky Captain里的图片，也许大概是这样吧（图／撷取自网路）

原文网址: 未来机场新概念「飞行航母」让旅客空中转机！ (第1页/共2页)| 国际新闻| NOWnews 今日新闻网http://www.nownews.com/2011/10/25/334-2752092.htm#ixzz1bqFST8uo

When it comes to aircraft, bigger is better. As size increases, so does efficiency, which is the thinking behind the monstrous Airbus A-380. But to be really efficient, you'd need to go bigger. Way bigger. We're talking an aircraft so large that other aircraft could land on it, in-flight.

The "Airborne Metro" concept is just that: it's like an express train in the sky. As part of a general metro or train system, though, you don't get to take the express line directly from start to finish. Instead, you take a smaller bus or train to get to the express train, and then probably another smaller bus or train to get to your final destination once you get off the express. In the case of the Airborne Metro, you'd catch a regular aircraft at a regional airport, zip up to a giant flying airport, and then ride that for a couple thousand miles before taking another regular aircraft back down.

This giant flying airport would be able to carry some 3,000 passengers at once, and would either allow conventional aircraft to land directly on its back, or would employ some sort of docking procedure to transfer passengers on and off. Having one of these things take off and land all the time would be extremely inefficient; instead, a nuclear reactor of some kind would provide in-flight power.

The concept envisions fleets of these huge airplanes flying continuous circuits from LA to Chicago to New York to London, over Europe, and back again. To fly a long distance, you'd simply hop a ferry flight up to the next giant express plane, transfer, and then chill out until you got close to your destination. Then you'd grab another little commercial craft to wherever you're going. This would be faster and more efficient for passengers, and would contribute to an overall fuel savings of 40% for a 600-mile trip, all the way up to 80% for a 6,000-mile trip.

We're obviously still waaay behind the technology curve necessary to make this happen, but if we ever do manage it, it could revolutionize air travel as we know it.