Posts
4:23 PM
Arvind T.M.
As the battle between the aviation giants for global markets rages on, Boeing and the NASA are quietly working on the next generation of civil transport- the Blended Wing Body ( BWB )design.
This radical aerodynamic concept had been in the offing for many decades, since the time of Jack Northrop ( Northrop Grumman`s founder and inventor of the flying wing design) but has gathered serious interest due to its massive technical and economic gains compared to conventional aircraft design.
The most significant feature in the BWB is that all the components- fuselage,wings , engines and other control surfaces are integrated into a single aerodynamic surface, as shown in the figure below ( Courtesy: Virginia Tech, US)
Why the BWB is making heads turn:-
1. Simple Economics : Higher Fuel Efficiency = Lesser money spent (as much as 32 % ) for long distance flights, which will be the hallmark of the BWB aircraft.
2. Lesser number of engines : You don`t have to be an Aviation freak to understand this :-).For generating the same force, Airbus`s hunk.. the huge A380 needs FOUR engines, while our BWB babe takes it cool on only THREE.
3.The "Save Mother Earth" junta : The BWB generates lesser noise , due to the favorable positioning of the engines and its interaction with the airframe. Further, lower emissions due to the lesser fuel it drinks up.
4. Carry more passengers : This thing lifts more passengers . Boeing has anticipated designs that can carry upto 1000 passengers ( Though this concept remains only on paper now ).As of now, its working on a toned down version taking 450-500 passengers.
5. It looks Beautiful ! : Man... One look at the BWB X48-B concept aircraft reminds me of the wandering albatross... huge wingspan.. wide wings .. To me,it doesn`t in anyway bring in the "fear factor" a potential US Air Force bomber would have.Nothing they could do about that, though :-) .
So the big deal is...
As with all high-profile Aero projects in the US, The military will be the first beneficiary of this , with flight testing of the Boeing X48-B unmanned BWB aircraft in progress.
Civilian versions will be probably be reality in a couple of decades, if some pressing issues in the BWB are sorted out. More on that in my next post.....
For more inquisitive people, I have cut a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo in this post,so forgive me for having left the finer details. Having a look at the following white paper by the Virginia Tech University would throw some light.
www.aoe.vt.edu/research/groups/bwb/papers/TheBWBAircraft.pdf
Also,
http://www.hightech-edge.com/boeing-x48b-unmanned-blended-wing-body-aircraft/799/
Please Post your comments on your opinion.. I`l be glad to reply.
This radical aerodynamic concept had been in the offing for many decades, since the time of Jack Northrop ( Northrop Grumman`s founder and inventor of the flying wing design) but has gathered serious interest due to its massive technical and economic gains compared to conventional aircraft design.
The most significant feature in the BWB is that all the components- fuselage,wings , engines and other control surfaces are integrated into a single aerodynamic surface, as shown in the figure below ( Courtesy: Virginia Tech, US)
1. Simple Economics : Higher Fuel Efficiency = Lesser money spent (as much as 32 % ) for long distance flights, which will be the hallmark of the BWB aircraft.
2. Lesser number of engines : You don`t have to be an Aviation freak to understand this :-).For generating the same force, Airbus`s hunk.. the huge A380 needs FOUR engines, while our BWB babe takes it cool on only THREE.
3.The "Save Mother Earth" junta : The BWB generates lesser noise , due to the favorable positioning of the engines and its interaction with the airframe. Further, lower emissions due to the lesser fuel it drinks up.
4. Carry more passengers : This thing lifts more passengers . Boeing has anticipated designs that can carry upto 1000 passengers ( Though this concept remains only on paper now ).As of now, its working on a toned down version taking 450-500 passengers.
5. It looks Beautiful ! : Man... One look at the BWB X48-B concept aircraft reminds me of the wandering albatross... huge wingspan.. wide wings .. To me,it doesn`t in anyway bring in the "fear factor" a potential US Air Force bomber would have.Nothing they could do about that, though :-) .
 |
| Boeing X-48B UAV in flight |
 |
| The Albatross-Find any similarity?:-) |
So the big deal is...
As with all high-profile Aero projects in the US, The military will be the first beneficiary of this , with flight testing of the Boeing X48-B unmanned BWB aircraft in progress.
Civilian versions will be probably be reality in a couple of decades, if some pressing issues in the BWB are sorted out. More on that in my next post.....
For more inquisitive people, I have cut a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo in this post,so forgive me for having left the finer details. Having a look at the following white paper by the Virginia Tech University would throw some light.
www.aoe.vt.edu/research/groups/bwb/papers/TheBWBAircraft.pdf
Also,
http://www.hightech-edge.com/boeing-x48b-unmanned-blended-wing-body-aircraft/799/
Please Post your comments on your opinion.. I`l be glad to reply.
