Airbus Explores Building Planes With Giant 3D Printers

A video featuring an Airbus concept passenger jet for circa 2050, apparently meant to be 3-D printed:

[youtube DcKb3ldQznU]

The idea of printing an entire jetliner in one go is certainly interesting, but it’s problematic. The clear advantage of such a capability would be the ability to create an incredibly optimized and unified mechanism. A single wingtip-to-wingtip skin would be light and strong.  And if something broke or wore out underneath it, or if the skin cracked or dented or abraded or delaminated… you’d have to replace the whole thing.