The basic design of commercial airplanes hasn’t changed much in decades. Companies such as Airbus and Boeing have traditionally relied on a wing-and-tube configuration, where wings are attached underneath the fuselage. But, engineers are now studying the pros and cons of an old idea where the wing is located above the fuselage.
Extra-long, thin wings stabilized by diagonal struts could make future commercial airliners lighter than traditional designs. When combined with expected advancements in propulsion systems, materials and systems architecture, a single-aisle airplane equipped with a transonic truss-braced wing (TTBW) could reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 30 percent.