New X-Plane Flies at Calif. Air Base

My Way ^ | Jul 27, 12:23 AM (ET) | unknown

[rocksblues]

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - An experimental jet that resembles a flying wing successfully flew for the first time in a program that could lead to more fuel-efficient, quieter and higher-capacity aircraft, NASA said Thursday.

The remotely controlled, 500-pound, three-engine jet with a 21-foot wingspan took off July 20, climbed to an altitude of 7,500 feet and landed about a half-hour later, NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center said.

The X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft was controlled by a pilot at a ground station. NASA and Boeing said data from the flight are already being compared with data from wind tunnel tests.

The aircraft and a duplicate were designed by Boeing Co. (BA)'s Phantom Works in cooperation with NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd. in Bedford, England, they are 8.5 percent-scale versions of a future full-size design.

The X-48B resembles a flying wing, but the wing blends into a wide, flat and tailless fuselage, NASA and Boeing said.

The design is intended to provide more lift with less drag compared with the cylindrical fuselage of a traditional aircraft, reducing fuel consumption while cruising.

The engines are located high on the back of the aircraft, which should mean it is quieter inside and less noise reaches the ground during flights.

The planes are initially flying at low speeds to gather information about the stability and flight-control characteristics of the design, particularly during takeoff and landing.

Another X-48B used for wind tunnel testing is available as a backup for flight tests.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

500 pound?

That's just for the 8.5%-scale model seen here.

[Walkingfeather]

is this CG or is it real? if so I have never seen it before.

[Chode]

i think it's a movie prop. looks real... don't it???

[Walkingfeather]

Man amazing.

[B-Chan]

CG — but the real thing (called a Blended Wing Body, or BWB) will be along in a decade or so. The fuel-saving advantages of the BWB airframe (20% more efficient than traditional designs) and its low noise signature will likely lead to the introduction of BWB airliners within the next 10-15 years. Should war come, it'll make a dandy Air Force tanker/transport (and possibly missile carrier) as well.

[AFreeBird]

Beoing looked at this design really hard a few years ago when they were thinking what to build next. They settled instead on the 787 design.

I figure they weren't quite ready for the wing design for commercial aviation. But it looks like they're still researching it.

Depending on how these tests go, the 787 might be the last "tube" they make.

[fish hawk]

Nice picture of me.