Dumbo Jets

I rounded the corner, looking for Gate 61, glancing out through the window of the terminal... stopping dead in my tracks. There, in all of its glory, was an aircraft many had never seen, let alone ridden in.

I marvelled at the shape of the wings, protruding from the forward fuselage of the aircraft, looking for all the world like large, droopy ears. I knew the wing design to be a stroke of genius, widely variable in shape as needed, depending upon lift requirements and flying conditions, with the jet intakes cleverly concealed in the leading edges of the ears/wings.

A massive, friendly, beaming face adorned the front of the craft, inviting passengers in... Lots of passengers. With a capacity of more than 1000 seats, this was the world's largest airliner. I realised the pilots would be looking out through the eyes, just above the retractible "trunk" that was necessary for air-to-air refuelling on long intercontinental trips. Like most new jet-engined aircraft, this one ran on "elephant juice", the new biofuel variant developed under a joint venture between the world's largest aircraft manufacturers.

The designers had rightully identified takeoff weight as the limiting factor in aircraft size, opting to reduce takeoff weight by reducing the takeoff fuel load then adding more fuel once the Dumbo was aloft.

The huge, pot-bellied fuselage was cavernous, able to accomodate all of those passengers, an amusement park and a very comfortable hotel lounge/restaurant area. I couldn't wait for takeoff, just to see this monstrously huge, grey elephant take to the skies.