It may only be a model, but this scale version of the X-48B
prototype is poised for its first flight.
Built by Boeing’s Phantom Works, the X-48B Ship 2 prototype
seen here is a scale version of a planned military aircraft.
With a wingspan of 21 feet (6.4 meters) and three turbojet
engines, the 500-pound (226-kilogram) prototype is capable of reaching an
altitude of about 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and speeds up to 120 knots,
project officials said, adding that the vehicle is only 8.5 percent the size of
the full-size aircraft it depicts.
Phantom Works is developing the X-48B as a Blended Wing-Body
demonstrator with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. This
prototype, currently undergoing a series of ground tests to determine its
structural integrity, is slated to make its first flight early next year.
-- SPACE.com Staff
Credit: Boeing/NASA/USAFRL.
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