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.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.nasa.gov