NASA's Hybrid Wing Drone Soars on First Flight Tests

The 500-pound airplane aims to push technologies needed for quieter, cleaner and more fuel-efficient aircraft

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 04.07.2010 at 12:15 pm 11 Comments

X-48B First Phase Look at me, no training wheels! NASA/Tony Landis

An unmanned aircraft with the appearance of a flying manta ray could herald the future of jetliners. NASA and Boeing's flying lab has wrapped up the first series of flight tests that should help pave the way for less noisy, more fuel-efficient airplanes that also emit less pollution.

The 500-pound X-48B aircraft celebrated its 80th and last flight of the project's first phase on March 19, 2010, or almost three years after its first flight on July 20, 2007.

NASA engineers spent that time testing how quickly the blended wing body responded to remote commands, and put the aircraft design through flight maneuvers such as stall testing, angle of attack, sideslip angle and acceleration to see if the onboard computer could keep the plane steady.

"This project is a huge success," said Fay Collier, manager of NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project. "Bottom line: the team has proven the ability to fly tailless aircraft to the edge of the low-speed envelope safely."

The U.S. space agency plans more tests later this year with a newer flight computer for the X-48B. A second hybrid wing body aircraft, the X-48C, has an even lower noise profile and awaits test flights.

Such a design may not seem quite as radical as NASA's vision for the stealthy personal tilt-rotor aircraft that could serve future commuters. But unlike the latter computer-generated vision, the X-48B has proven its flying chops and could sooner lead to better commercial airline rides for everyone.

For more blended wing goodness, check out the images here.

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11 Comments

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locutus

04/07/10 at 12:46 pm

why is there a cockpit on a drone?

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10jacobf

04/07/10 at 12:54 pm

WOW! Last time I checked on this design, it was on the drawing board. Since a scale model works well (w/ improvements to make) we may be rid of the problems with today's airliners for good.

Just like the planes around the world look the same today but are sold under different names, these new designs could be used by anyone - not just one airline!

All they need to do is figure out how to put Ballistic Recovery Parachutes on there and we'll have the perfect airplane.

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Frosttty

04/07/10 at 1:03 pm

Cockpit is on the drone so you know where the front is, lol!

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johnt007871

04/07/10 at 4:06 pm

It's a model of a possible passenger aircraft, not a drone.
Every remote control plane thats bigger than what you see in RadioShack is not a drone...

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keg444

04/08/10 at 4:12 am

I think its the drone prototype of the boeing 797

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ajohnson1986

04/08/10 at 10:40 am

With the huge fuseloge (sp?) it could make a nice drone...carry lots of "cargo" in there...

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suggestivesimon

04/08/10 at 4:15 pm

@ johnt007871

A drone is "a pilotless aircraft operated by remote control". That's it. So this is indeed a drone.

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trireme

04/08/10 at 5:38 pm

It's always great to see new aircraft designs. In the past major aircraft companies have avoided blended-wing planes because they don't fit very well at airport gates. I hope the airports can learn to show a bit of flexibility in the future (that'll be the day!).

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cowboy82

04/09/10 at 11:17 am

@locutus (really?)
the cockpit is there because this is a scaled down model of what it is hoped will be the future of commercial avitation, the cockpit makes the model more realistic.

@10jacobf
ballistic recovery chutes? Why? it is designed to be able to LAND, or did you not notice the LANDING GEAR. a full scale unit would simply have larger, more practical landing gear. What was your thinking RE ballistic rec. chutes? (no sarcasm intended)

On another page a related article shows the actual size of the craft next to the tech's working the project. It is a step in the right direction, but I believe they have not gone far enough. with an elongated nose section melded into the existing airframe and a new generation of hybrid engines they would not only completely revamp the commercial aviation industry, but, and quite realistically soon, bring commercial space travel to the main populace of the entire planet.

Imagine, for a moment, not redesigning the entirety of the engine, but merely the intake, combustion/exhaust, and fuel systems. You would have a standard turbojet engine offset from the intake with a baffle to direct airflow to the turbine at "low" speeds and altitudes, the turbine would be angled so as to align with a common combustion/exhaust unit in the rear. At "high" altitudes and speeds the baffle would redirect the airflow to bypass the turbine in favor of a direct line to the combust./exhaust section so as to run as a scramjet. Once near the border of space, where air is virtually non-existant, the inlet would seal and LOX would be introduced from seperate tanks to provede continued combustion/thrust. The fuel itself would be liquid hydrogen which, when burned in the presence of oxygen, provides one helluva kick, and oh yeah,water vapor as exhaust.

All of this could be done for pennies on the research dollar compared to trying to completely redesign the entire aircaft from soup to nuts. Most of this can be accomplished with "off-the-shelf" parts and production equipment/processes. And, when we're ready to attempt the first "true" interplanetary travel, the introduction of an "ion/plasma" drive should be fairly simplistic to add to (at that time) a proven transorbital vehicle.

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rmitchkzoo

04/09/10 at 12:08 pm

Have no fear, the administration will cancel the project soon. Gotta be fiscally responsible ya know...

Better leave this to Airbus or the Chinese so they can put all that stimulus money they got from us to good use.

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draco

04/10/10 at 5:30 pm

I'm happy to hear from aerospace technicians at NASA that any aircraft of the blended wing body shape, whether manned or unmanned, can work as a commercial/military transport. Can you imagine a blended wing body carrying as many as 1,000 U.S. soldiers? What would it be like if such a plane carried 38 elephants or 750 tanks?

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