The
500-pound remotely piloted X-48B test vehicle, a blended wing body research
aircraft that could fly more people and cargo more quietly in the future, took
off for the first time on July 20 from Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The 21-foot
wingspan aircraft flew at 8:42 am PDT and climbed to an altitude of 7,500 feet
before landing 31 minutes later.
The aircraft
resembles a giant stingray and was developed by Boeing in cooperation with NASA
and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The X-48B test vehicle, an 8.5 percent scale version of the full-size design, was built
by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd. in Bedford, England.
"Friday's
flight marked yet another aviation first achieved by a very hard-working
Boeing, NASA and Cranfield team," said Gary Cosentino, Dryden's Blended
Wing Body project manager. "The X-48B flew as well as we had
predicted, and we look forward to many productive data flights this summer and
fall."
NASA's
participation in the effort is focused on fundamental, advanced flight dynamics
and structural concepts of the design.
The Boeing
design features a wing that blends smoothly into a wide, flat, tailless
fuselage. This fuselage blending provides additional lift with less drag
compared to a circular fuselage, translating to reduced fuel use at cruise
conditions. The engines mount high on the back of the aircraft, so there is
less noise inside and on the ground when it is in flight.
Three
turbojet engines enable the composite-skinned vehicle to fly up to 10,000 feet
and 120 knots in its low-speed configuration.
The
aircraft is flown remotely
from a ground control station where a pilot uses conventional aircraft controls
and instrumentation while looking at a monitor fed by a forward-looking camera
on the aircraft.
Up to 25
flights are planned to gather low-speed data. Then the X-48B might be used to
test the aircraft's low-noise and handling at transonic speeds.
--NASA and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: NASA
