Looking like something out of a Batman movie, a small, unmanned experimental aircraft is taking to the skies over the Antelope Valley.
Continuing the tradition of X planes that dates back to 1947 at Edwards Air Force Base, Boeing Phantom Works is flight-testing a 21-foot-wide airplane called the X-48B. The aircraft is being used to try out a design concept called "blended-wing body" or "BWB" that could provide more lift, greater range and as much as 30percent greater fuel economy - a valuable element for military tankers and transports.
Unlike the traditional design in which a tubelike fuselage is fitted with wings, the blended-wing body merges the fuselage with the wing. The result is a cross between a conventional aircraft and a flying wing such as the B-2 stealth bomber.
Source: dailynews.com
Tags: aircraft | airplane | antelope | blended-wing | Boeing Phantom Works | concept | continuing | dates | economy | Edwards Air Force Base | EXPERIMENTAL | flight | flight-testing | milestone | planes | TANKERS | Tradition | transports | unmanned
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