US Air Force, WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio: A new aircraft with the potential to get up to 30 percent better fuel mileage because of its unique flying-wing shape is being tested by the Air Force Research Laboratory and industry partners.
The prototype blended wing body, or BWB, aircraft is a modified, triangular-shaped aircraft configuration with 20 control surfaces along its trailing edge. Researchers believe it will have greater fuel efficiency because more of the plane produces lift. More lift is gained because the wing centerbody, which on a BWB replaces the fuselage of a conventional airplane where the payload is carried, generates lift and minimizes drag.
Scientists from Boeing Phantom Works, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and AFRL are collaborating on the unmanned research aircraft to explore and validate the structural, aerodynamic and operational advantages of the BWB concept.
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