First-ever 'Star Trek plane' with no moving parts built

MIT scientists have built and flown the first-ever Star Trek-inspired plane with no moving parts, paving the way for quieter, simpler aircraft with no combustion emissions.

Instead of propellers, the light aircraft is powered by an "ionic wind" -- a silent but mighty flow of ions, which generates enough thrust to propel the plane over a sustained, steady flight.

Unlike turbine-powered planes, the aircraft does not depend on fossil fuels to fly, according to the study published in the journal Nature.

The new design is completely silent unlike propeller-driven drones.

"This is the first-ever sustained flight of a plane with no moving parts in the propulsion system," said Steven Barrett, associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.

"This has potentially opened new and unexplored possibilities for aircraft which are quieter, mechanically simpler, and do not emit combustion emissions," Barrett said.

Such ion wind propulsion systems could be used to fly less noisy drones in the near future, researchers said.

Barrett said the inspiration for the team's ion plane comes partly from the movie and television series, "Star Trek."