Nuclear Powered Aircraft

Speculation alert:  This idea is entirely based upon my own speculations.  Take it with a grain of salt.  At least for now.

This is an old Cold War idea that may make a comeback if fusion power is perfected.

Maybe they could start with propeller driven aircraft, with the propellers being turned by electric motors.  If anything, such an engine would be quiet.  The nuke power plant could be situated away from passengers, but also away from the motors themselves.  One central power plant could power all of the engines.  The fusion power ideas such as polywell, focus fusion and ecat are all free of harmful radiation anyway, so radiation would of minimal concern.

Of the three fusion powered plants listed here, all three would be small enough to fit on a plane.  Polywell may have a problem, considering that the shape of the thing would be somewhat awkward for an aircraft.  Focus fusion has a similar problem, judging from all the pictures I looked at yesterday.  Ecat seems to be the best bet, in terms of size, weight, and shape.

One huge advantage of a fusion powered aircraft would be in terms of weight.  Think of all that fuel that would not have to be carried onboard.  This could also free up room for more passengers and space.

Another advantage, of course, is range.  Such a craft could fly indefinitely, without the need to fill up.  The passengers and crew may want to come down before the plane needs to.

Naturally, it would not use fossil fuels, so it wouldn't add carbon dioxide to the environment.  Not that global warming is even a threat anyway, but some people seem to think so.  The better reason to stop using fossil fuels is to stop importing all that oil.