Flight of the blended wing

The X-48B remotely-piloted blended-wing aircraft took to the skies for the first time last Friday over NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

Boeing's Phantom Works designed the 21ft wingspan, 500 pound  X-48B flight test vehicle in cooperation with NASA and the US Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to gather detailed information about the stability and flight-control characteristics of blended wing body design, especially during takeoffs and landings.

The Boeing blended-wing body design resembles a flying wing, but differs in that the wing blends smoothly into a wide, flat, tailless fuselage. This fuselage blending provides additional lift with less drag compared to a circular fuselage, reducing fuel use at cruise conditions. Since the engines mount high on the back of the aircraft, there is less noise inside and on the ground when it is in flight.

Three turbojet engines enable the composite-skinned, 8.5 percent scale vehicle to fly up to 10,000ft and 120 knots in its low-speed configuration.