[...]
His X-48B blended-wing prototype, now on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, is only about a 10th the size of the 240-foot-wingspan craft he hopes to build. But the Pentagon is watching keenly. “Blended-wing technology can cost-effectively fill many roles required by the Air Force,” says Capt. Scott Van-Hoogen of the Air Vehicles Directorate. As a tanker, for example, it could refuel two planes in midair at the same time.
For now Boeing is focused on making a military version of the plane by 2022. But by 2030 blended-wing aircraft could be carrying commercial passengers. Last November a team from MIT and Cambridge University unveiled the SAX-40, a blended-wing design that promises to be more fuel-efficient than a Toyota (Charts) Prius - and thanks in part to the engine placement, just as quiet (at 63 decibels).
[...] [via CNN Money]
Well they sorta got the story wrong in that Boing wasn’t announcing it. They had announced this plane decades ago. But its nice to see that they’ve worked their prototype up to a decent size (next step is full size). They’ve had some chanllenges on this job, but understandably the B2 bomber played a big role in engineering for a blended wing airplane (and controlling it). They don’t say in the article, but I assume X-48A was lost in a crash or similar.
The mockups they’ve shown with what they can do with an airplane designed like this is amazing. They are estimating they can fit 800 people in one plane comfortably. And plus they can do little things to make the long flights this plane would be able to do more manageable.
Tags: Aviation, Engineering, Interesting, News, Photographs
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