“Star Wars” Designer Envisions Futuristic Aircraft Coming to Earth From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Designer of Star Wars starships imagines aircraft looking more organic and responsive, transporting more flyers and alerting pilots of conditions.

Could it be possible to have breakfast in New York and lunch in Tokyo, all in the same day? If one Star Wars franchise designer’s predictions come true, super-speed aircraft could make it an everyday reality. In an interview with CNN, designer Stephen Chang unveiled three aircraft designs that could shape the future of aviation.

“I think planes are going to look more organic in the future,” said Chang, who worked at LucasArts for seven years and designed a starship for one of the franchise’s video games, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. “If you look at the evolution of things, they start out really clunky; then they move toward more natural designs.”

The only design Chang shared with expressed usage as a commercial airliner was the Flying Wing, a sleek aircraft designed to fit as many as 300 passengers. The Flying Wing is conceived as a pilot-free aircraft, completely controlled by a pilot from the ground using in-flight communication systems.

Another design was inspired by the V-22 Osprey, which is currently in use by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps. Much like the Osprey, the 40-passenger aircraft would feature rotating propellers, allowing the aircraft to take off and land vertically.

Chang’s final design was inspired by the Boeing X-51 Waverider as a high-speed jet. The “supersonic combusting ramjet” — or “scramjet” — would be able to hold as many as 50 passengers, with imagined supersonic speeds controlled through automated systems.

The futuristic designs share some similarities to that of the Progress Eagle, a conceptual aircraft of the future imagined by Spanish designer Oscar Viñals. While each design offers an entertaining look at the potential of aviation’s future, there are currently no plans for these aircraft to be constructed.

[Photos: Stephen Chang]