NASA Tests New Blended Wing Aircraft

NASA finally began testing on their experimental blended wing aircraft, the X-48. The X-48 is a new test vehicle for NASA which will be used to test possible wing designs for the future. The X-48 was developed by Boeing along with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Lab.

The test was conducted July 20^th at Edwards Air Force Base in California. According to NASA the aircraft took of and climbed to an altitude of 7,000 feet before landing 31 minutes later. The X-48B that was flown last week was Ship 2 in the project. Ship 2 is only 8.5% scale model of what the final craft is hoped to be. It currently has a wingspan of 21 feet, and weighs 500 pounds. The X-48B is remotely piloted for test reasons.

A NASA test pilot flew the X-48B from a ground control station, where a monitor showed a camera view from inside the aircraft. Currently NASA is planning up to 25 test flights to collect data such as sound and handling characteristics at low speeds. The data collected from this program will be used to help in designing next generation blended wing aircraft for both military and commercial use. The blended wing design seems promising currently because of the higher fuel efficiency as well as more cargo space. Currently the X-48B is powered by three turbojet engines, enabling the aircraft to fly up to 10,000 feet, and 120 knots in the current low speed configuration.

The blended wing project manager had this to say about the recent test, "he X-48B flew as well as we had predicted, and we look forward to many productive data flights this summer and fall." This is an encouraging sign for Boeing and NASA, because this shows that their time and effort of the last two years is paying off on this project. The public has awaited the flight test of the X-48 project since May 2006 when the project was first publicly announced. At the time test flights were expected in late 2006, finally NASA has confirmed that the project has been tested in flight.

Surprisingly NASA and Boeing both believe that the blended wing aircraft could possibly be used in the future for commercial airlines. It is still to early to really know if there is any true potential for commercial airline use but if the blended wing tests go well it is still a possibility for Boeing.