Airbus Twin Fuselage Airplane

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 12:41 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Airbus engineers have revealed a unique double-fuselage aircraft design.
The design's positioning enhances robustness, allowing for reduced weight and improved fuel efficiency.
It features a turboprop propulsion system located in the center of the aft wing.
Airbus claims its design, with forward-swept wings, solves the high center of gravity and flying difficulties present in an earlier double-fuselage concept patented by Boeing.

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Drawings from company engineers recently revealed a very unique design.

Airbus Twin Fuselage Airplane — The positioning makes the craft particularly robust, allowing it to operate with less weight and thus, less fuel usage. Read our recent feature on the Airbus twin fuselage design here.

Airbus Twin Fuselage Airplane — The design features a turboprop propulsion system located in the center of the aft wing. Read our recent feature on the Airbus twin fuselage design here.

Boeing Twin Fuselage Design — According to Airbus, their design solves the problems of a much earlier double fuselage structure patented by Boeing, which featured two straight wings, with the aft wing positioned significantly higher than the fore wing. Read our recent feature on the Airbus twin fuselage design here.

Boeing Twin Fuselage Design — Airbus says the Boeing craft’s abnormal height gave it a particularly high CG, which would also make it rather difficult to fly. The With the forward-swept wings of the Airbus design, the company says it has solved that problem. Read our recent feature on the Airbus twin fuselage design here.

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