Article Tools

• 

The Boeing Blended Wing Body (BWB) research aircraft, designated the X-48B, flew for the first time at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The 21-foot wingspan, 500-pound unmanned test vehicle took off on July 20 and climbed to an altitude of 7500 feet before landing 31 minutes later.

The Boeing BWB design resembles a flying wing, but differs in that the wing blends smoothly into a wide, flat, tailless fuselage. This fuselage blending helps to obtain additional lift with less drag, compared to a circular fuselage, thereby reducing fuel consumption at cruise conditions. Because the engines mount high on the back of the aircraft, there is less noise inside and on the ground when the aircraft is in flight.

The X-48B flight test vehicle was developed by Boeing Phantom Works in cooperation with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to gather detailed information about the stability and flight-control characteristics of the BWB design — especially during takeoffs and landings. Up to 25 flights are planned to gather data in these low-speed flight regimes. Following completion of low-speed flight testing, the X-48B will probably be used to test the BWB's low-noise characteristics, as well as BWB handling characteristics at transonic speeds.

Three turbojet engines enable the composite-skinned research vehicle to fly at an altitude of up to 10,000 feet at a speed of 120 knots. Modifications would need to be made to the craft to enable it to fly at higher speeds. The unmanned aircraft is remotely piloted from a ground control station in which the pilot uses conventional aircraft controls and instrumentation while looking at a monitor fed by a forward-looking camera on the aircraft.

The two X-48B research vehicles were built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd. in the United Kingdom in accordance with Boeing requirements.