#x-48

[comicwaren]

From 2020 Machine Man #001, “Computer Love - Part 1”

Art by Andy MacDonald and Dono Sánchez-Almara

Written by Christos Gage

[projecthabu]

    NASA and Boeing teamed up to produce the X-48C, a subscale prototype that first flew in August 2012. Creating small flying models to test new ideas is faster, safer and less expensive than building full sized research aircraft. The new idea here is the Blended Wing Body. This idea improves efficiency and capacity for future airline designs.

    One of the design goals here was to lower the noise of an airliner. Over the decades, jet engines have made huge advances in noise reduction, but less has been done about the sound generated by the aerodynamics of the ship cutting through the air. Deploying landing gear and flaps creates drag, thus creating noise. These devices are used at low level (during takeoff and landing), when the noise level of the aircraft is most critical. This design strives to make those non propulsive parts quieter by “sculpting” them into the body in a more efficient way.

    The windows on the model are not just for show. A small camera sits behind the windows, feeding a ground based pilot a view from the tiny cockpit, allowing them better situational awareness during the flights.

    This X-48C is on display at the Air Force Flight Test Museum on Edwards Air Force Base, California, serving as a precursor of things to come. Like so many aircraft that have graced the flightline of Edwards, this may serve as the aircraft of the future.

[hayaishi]

X-48. Nasa's remotely piloted aircraft.

[fabforgottennobility]

X-48B

Boeing Phantom Works' subscale Blended Wing Body technology demonstration aircraft began its initial flight tests from NASA?s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. in the summer of 2007. The 8.5 percent dynamically scaled unmanned aircraft, designated the X-48B by the Air Force, is designed to mimic the aerodynamic characteristics of a full-scale large cargo transport aircraft with the same blended wing body shape. The initial flight tests focused on evaluation of the X-48B's low-speed flight characteristics and handling qualities. About 25 flights were planned to gather data in these low-speed flight regimes. Based on the results of the initial flight test series, a second set of flight tests was planned to test the aircraft's low-noise and handling characteristics at transonic speeds.

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

This photo shows a prototype of the X-48C blended wing body aircraft being tested in NASA Langley's 12-Foot Low-Speed Tunnel. Blended wing bodies have many advantages over conventional tube-and-wing designs: the entire surface of the craft can generate lift; the usable cargo/passenger area of the craft is increased; and, structurally, the craft is easier to manufacture. Flight tests of a remote-controlled version of the craft have also taken place.