The world of commercial aviation is vast--there's almost no limit to the number of airplanes flying passengers around the world these days. And while most people can't tell an MD-80 from an A320, there are three planes that have truly captured enthusiasts' imaginations over the last decade.
First, Airbus' A380 changed the game. By putting a true double-decker in the skies, a plane that can carry more passengers than any other commercial plane in history, Airbus grabbed the aviation world by the scruff, and hasn't yet let go.
Boeing, of course, has had its own days in the sun. While its 787 Dreamliner struggled to get off the ground--it was years late, and always seemed about to suffer through yet another delay--it finally did. Now airlines are flying the plane, and everyone seems to love it.
Early in 2012, Boeing is expected to hand over the first 747-8 Intercontinental--the next generation of the most iconic jumbo jet in history--to Lufthansa. That will mark yet another big day for the company, and for the industry. But it will also be an important day for another reason.
Once the Intercontinental is a for-real, passenger-flying plane, it will mean that there are no more iconic planes on the horizon. None. There will continue to be new planes from the likes of Airbus and Boeing, and others--and there are new projects being worked on in the private space industry, like the Stratolaunch, that are getting people very excited. But for at least the next 5 or 10 years, commercial passenger aviation will most likely be developing aircraft with little personality that will hardly get anyone truly worked up as they get off the ground.
So watch for the beginning of the Intercontinental era in early 2012. We won't see another new striking commercial passenger plane take air for a long time to come.
Credit: CNet
Gravity always wins!