GE Aviation's 20-passenger concept

The commercial aircraft of the future are on today's drawing tables. Some of those new designs surfaced this week when NASA announced the results of its Fundamental Aeronautics Program. In the 18-month exercise, heavy-hitting industrial and academic groups contemplated specific operational, environmental, and energy efficiency goals for air travel in 2030 and beyond.

NASA says it was after realistic concepts, not science fiction. "Standing next to the airplane, you may not be able to tell the difference [from current designs], but the improvements will be revolutionary," said Richard Wahls, a project scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., said in a statement Monday. "Technological beauty is more than skin deep."

Pictured here is a 20-passenger aircraft conceived by a team from GE Aviation; it would seat four across in an oval fuselage. The shape of the aircraft is intended to allow smooth airflow over all surfaces. Fuel cells would power electrical systems, and the racket associated with air travel would be reduced through the use of low-noise propellers and advanced engine design, as well as short takeoffs and quick climbs.

May 18, 2010 11:45 AM PDT

Photo by: NASA/GE Aviation

| Caption by: Jonathan E. Skillings