Whether sitting atop the Hudson or drifting just above a skyscraper, these conceptual floating airports put landing strips where they’re needed most: in the middle of bustling metropoleis. Our friends at Oobject have assembled 12 of the best.
Be sure to also check out these converted jets and jungle planes.
Aerial landing field on blimp
Japanese Megafloat Concept Airport
Edward Armstrong Seadrome
Skyscraper airport design concept, 1930
Proposed airport over Penn Station in NY, 1929
Turntable runway, rooftop airport for cities
Floating Runways for Seaplanes
Norman Bel Geddes’ design for a floating airport off Wall Street
M Lurcat design for floating airport in middle of Paris
London Airport over Thames, 1930s
Zeckendorf’s 1946 idea to deck over midtown Manhattan
Ozoneocean
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 5:07 AMHaha, right in the heart of cities… that was before jets and their super loud engines… Not to mention what happens during an accident.
Titsnass
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 9:17 AMNow see, that Japanese floating jobby there, will probably actually happen in a future near you!
MotorMouth
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 10:13 AMThe Japanese floating airport looks like the idea that was “floated” (sorry, couldn’t help myself) as a possible new airport for Sydney. IT was to be made from massive, inverted concrete boxes that would trap air underneath and allow waves to propagate without disturbing the top surface. It seemed like an achievable idea.
JezzK
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:05 PMWhile the concept is great (who enjoys landing at an airport somewhere then generally needing to drive 1/2 hour to get to the city for business) – given the horrific events of September 11, I doubt governments would be keen to have airports smack bang in the middle of a city.
WhiteDaemon666
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3:33 PMAm I the only one to notice the irony of having a runway for seaplanes?
bdc
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 8:07 PMexcept that we can just make more coastline to expand anyway…
PJ
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 9:34 PMOne word … overshoot