X-48B Blended Wing Body Aircraft Makes First Flight



Jul 27, 2007 1:14 AM

X-48B Blended Wing Body Aircraft Makes First Flight
Posted By: Neil Relyea

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) -- NASA says an experimental jet
successfully flew for the first time in a program that could lead to more
fuel-efficient, quieter and higher-capacity aircraft.

The X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft and a duplicate were designed by a division
of Boeing in cooperation with NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory at
Wright Patterson Air Force Base in western Ohio.

The remotely controlled, 500-pound, three-engine jet with a 21-foot wingspan
took off July 20.

It climbed to an altitude of 7,500 feet and landed about a half hour later.

It was controlled by a pilot at a ground station. NASA and Boeing say data from
the flight is already being compared with data from wind tunnel tests.

The X-48B resembles a flying wing, but the wing blends into a wide, flat and
tailless fuselage.


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