Wed, Mar 14, 2007
X-48B May Represent New Wave Of Military Aircraft, Commercial
Planes
After years of development, it appears Boeing's X-48B
Blended-Wing prototype may soon take flight... possibly paving the
way for a new class of commercial and military airliners.
As its name implies, the X-48B blends a large delta wing with
the aircraft's fuselage -- eliminating the conventional "tube"
fuselage, as well as the empennage. Think of a B-2 bomber after a
large Thanksgiving dinner, and you'll have a rough idea of the
concept behind the Blended Wing prototype.
CNN Money reports such a plane -- first conceived by McDonnell
Douglas, which Boeing acquired in the late 1990s -- would use up to
30 percent less fuel over a comparable conventional "tube-and-wing"
airliner, due to the smoother aerodynamics offered by the blended
wing.As Aero-News reported, the
model went through air tunnel testing last year.
The X-48B prototype expected to take flight later this month
from California's Edward's Air Force Base is about one-tenth the
size of a full-scale plane that Boeing hopes to bring to reality by
2020. For the moment, Boeing is focusing primarily on military
applications for the X-48B -- but airlines are also studying the
concept.
There are some obstacles for passenger applications, however.
One is how engineers will be able to pressurize what would
essentially be a wide, flat area; the other is the lack of windows
available to those passengers seated towards the center of the
blended wing plane.
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