Canards come to mind right off the bat.
Even military aircraft aren't pushing the envelope in design features anymore
Ever seen the JAS39 Gripen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gripen)?
Re:It Flies: Da Vinci's Dream Comes True
by run4yourlives on Monday July 25, 2011 @07:02PM
(#2805121)
Canards have been used quite heavily in fighter jets for the last 20 years... Gripen, Typhoon, Rafale, Kfir. All delta-winged designs with the same basic layout.
For that specific example however I was thinking civilian aircraft, in which canards would be a huge step forward but are never seen.
You are practically correct about that last thing, though I must point out that never is too strong a word: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-144
Re:It Flies: Da Vinci's Dream Comes True
by run4yourlives on Tuesday July 26, 2011 @12:22PM
(#2808061)
Never as in "commercial success". Closer to reality than the 144, which was pretty much a government money pit, was the Beech Starship (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Starship). Again though, not able to see any real success.
Canards come to mind right off the bat. The fact is that the design of aircraft is extremely expensive and there is little advantage to innovation. You aren't going to be able to charge twice as much as your competitor with the 737 lookalike regardless of how wonderful your new canard layout flexible control surface design is.
Even military aircraft aren't pushing the envelope in design features anymore - think of how similar an F-22 is to an F-15. There is simply too much risk and not enough payoff.