Boeing’s [BA] X-48C blended wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has successfully completed 30 test flights over an eight-month research period, the company said.
The blended wing body (BWB) concept is an attempt to make planes more aerodynamic and more fuel efficient with a flat, airfoil design. The wings blend evenly into the body of the plane, which has no tail and its engines are mounted on the top back.
“We have shown that a BWB aircraft, which offers the tremendous promise of significantly greater fuel efficiency and reduced noise, can be controlled as effectively as a conventional tube-and-wing aircraft during takeoffs, landings and other low-speed segments of the flight regime,” said Bob Liebeck, the head of Boeing’s BWB program.
The X-48C remained in the air for approximately 30 minutes at speeds of 140 miles per hour and an altitude of 10,000 feet during its test flights. The tests were conducted at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center.
The craft improves upon two previous versions of the X-48. The X-48C has two engines in lieu of three, a longer aft deck and its wingtip winglets were moved inboard nearer to the engines.
As for military applications, Boeing said the craft could assist in transporting cargo and aerial refueling. Those uses, however, are 15 to 20 years of development in the future.
“The purpose of this research is just to verify the aerodynamics of the concept,” said Boeing spokesman Tom Koehler said of the recently completed tests.
Boeing said it will build a larger-scale BWB craft now that the X-48C has proven viable.