You won’t fit many passengers inside this particular plane just yet, unfortunately. Schwarzbild Medien/F.

Foring/Airbus Group
Far from being just a cool-looking scale model of an aircraft, this little pilotless plane,
controlled remotely, has been shown to fly. Its inaugural flight took place near Hamburg last
November, with the project’s chief engineer Gunnar Haase taking control from the ground.

Right now, it’s more of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or a “drone”, than a true plane.
However, it serves as a hint as to what’s to come next. Just last week, Airbus filed a
patent for a 3D printing process that would be capable of 3D printing an entirely functional
and fully operational aircraft.
Thor, which is an acronym for “Test of High-text Objectives in Reality”, is a logical step up
from what both Airbus and its US rival Boeing are already doing – 3D printing parts for their
A350 and B787 passenger jets, respectively. Each component requires no tools and can be
assembled incredibly quickly.

It’s very likely that, not before long, it won’t be unusual to be flying around in aircraft that
are almost entirely 3D printed. The sky may not be the limit for much longer: the future
Ariane 6 rocket belonging to the European Space Agency, set to launch in 2020, will feature
several 3D-printed components.

You won’t fit many passengers inside this particular plane just yet, unfortunately. Schwarzbild Medien/F.
Foring/Airbus Group
Far from being just a cool-looking scale model of an aircraft, this little pilotless plane,
controlled remotely, has been shown to fly. Its inaugural flight took place near Hamburg last
November, with the project’s chief engineer Gunnar Haase taking control from the ground.

Right now, it’s more of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or a “drone”, than a true plane.
However, it serves as a hint as to what’s to come next. Just last week, Airbus filed a
patent for a 3D printing process that would be capable of 3D printing an entirely functional
and fully operational aircraft.
Thor, which is an acronym for “Test of High-text Objectives in Reality”, is a logical step up
from what both Airbus and its US rival Boeing are already doing – 3D printing parts for their
A350 and B787 passenger jets, respectively. Each component requires no tools and can be
assembled incredibly quickly.

It’s very likely that, not before long, it won’t be unusual to be flying around in aircraft that
are almost entirely 3D printed. The sky may not be the limit for much longer: the future
Ariane 6 rocket belonging to the European Space Agency, set to launch in 2020, will feature
several 3D-printed components.