Categories: NASA

Prototype Blended Wing Aircraft Tested

The flying wing is an old design, but NASA aerospace engineers think it might be just what the airline industry needs. As part of their research into this concept, the agency recently tested out the X-48B flying wing prototype. If this design matches the developers’ ambitions, it could usher in a new class of aircraft which would be quieter and use less fuel.

The remotely controlled 6.4 metre (21-foot) wingspan aircraft took off from NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center on July 20th, 2007. It climbed to an altitude of 2,286 metres (7,500 feet), and then landed again 31 minutes later.

Designed and built by Boeing’s Phantom Works, the X-48B was created to help engineers explore the flight dynamics of this aircraft shape. Instead of the traditional fuselage and wings, the X-48B looks just like flying wing, which blends smoothly into a wide, flat, tailless fuselage. The blend between the wing and fuselage gives the aircraft additional lift and less drag compared to a circular fuselage.

Powering the vehicle are three turbojet engines. These are 8.5% scale, which allow the aircraft to fly up to 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) altitude, and reach speeds of 220 kph (138 mph). The engines are mounted high up on the fuselage in the back, and making it both quieter inside, and on the ground.

NASA is planning 25 more test flights with the X-48B to gather data in low-speed maneuvers. Then they might use the prototype to see if it’s truly quiet and how it handles at transonic speeds.

Original Source: NASA News Release

Fraser Cain

Fraser Cain is the publisher of Universe Today. He's also the co-host of Astronomy Cast with Dr. Pamela Gay. Here's a link to my Mastodon account.

Recent Posts

Is the Universe a Fractal?

For decades cosmologists have wondered if the large-scale structure of the universe is a fractal:…

3 hours ago

How Did Black Holes Grow So Quickly? The Jets

A current mystery in astronomy is how supermassive black holes gained so much heft so…

11 hours ago

Quantum Correlations Could Solve the Black Hole Information Paradox

The black hole information paradox has puzzled physicists for decades. New research shows how quantum…

1 day ago

M87 Releases a Rare and Powerful Outburts of Gamma-ray Radiation

In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration made history when it released the first-ever…

1 day ago

Astronomers Find a Black Hole Tipped Over on its Side

Almost every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole churning away at its core. In…

1 day ago

NASA is Developing Solutions for Lunar Housekeeping’s Biggest Problem: Dust!

Through the Artemis Program, NASA will send the first astronauts to the Moon since the…

2 days ago