Boeing X-48B blended wing UAV maakt eerste vlucht

Skyray 48 Takes Flight

Science Daily — Calm excitement filled the ground control station. Engineers stared intently at their computer screens as the pilot, sitting next to them, flexed his fingers on the controls. Ground crew tending the aircraft finished putting away their equipment. Preparations for the first flight of the unmanned X-48B Blended Wing Body research aircraft were complete.

Years of research, design, construction, wind tunnel and ground tests coalesced into this one moment of time.

Radios crackled. "Tower, Skyray 48 in position, lakebed runway 23, request clearance for takeoff..."

"Skyray 48 roger, main base winds 220 at 6, report airborne, lakebed 23..."

"Wilco"

"Five, four, three, two, one, brakes..."

Quickly, the manta ray-shaped aircraft rolled down the dry lakebed runway trailing a plume of dust as it picked up speed, its three small jet engines whining.

With an excitement that only comes with an aircraft's first flight, the triangular red, white and blue X-48B leapt into the air, obviously wanting to fly.

"Skyray 48's airborne," Boeing pilot Norm Howell called, matter-of-factly. And with that, years of toil blossomed into the sweet fruit of success on July 20, 2007 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards AFB, Calif.

One of the latest cutting-edge experimental aircraft, or X-Planes, the X-48B BWB is a collaborative effort of the Boeing Co., NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. The 21-foot wingspan, 500-pound, remotely piloted plane is designed to demonstrate the viability of the blended wing shape. And demonstrate it has.

After completion of six flights, the X-48B team began a four-week maintenance and modification period during which removable leading edges with extended slats are being replaced with slatless leading edges in order to mimic a slats-retracted configuration. The change requires a software update to the flight control software. In addition, the team is removing and replacing all of the aircraft's flight control actuators for maintenance purposes.

NASA is interested in the potential benefits of the aircraft - increased volume for carrying capacity, efficient aerodynamics for reduced fuel burn, and, possibly, significant reductions in noise due to propulsion integration options. In these initial flights, the principal focus is to validate prior research on the aerodynamic performance and controllability of the shape, including comparisons of flight test data with the extensive database gathered in the wind tunnels at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia.

The Subsonic Fixed-Wing Project, part of NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program, has long supported the development of the blended wing body concept. It has participated in numerous collaborations with Boeing, as well as several wind tunnel tests for different speed regimes. The team is focused on researching the low-speed characteristics of the design and expanding its flight envelope beyond the limits of current capabilities.

In addition to hosting the X-48B flight test and research activities, NASA Dryden is providing engineering and technical support -- expertise garnered from years of operating cutting-edge air vehicles. NASA assists with the hardware and software validation and verification process, the integration and testing of the aircraft systems, and the pilot's ground control station. NASA's range group provides critical telemetry and command and control communications during the flight, while the flight operations group provides a T-34 chase aircraft and essential flight scheduling. Photo and video support complete the effort.

The composite-skinned, 8.5 percent scale vehicle can to fly up to 10,000 feet and 120 knots in its low-speed configuration. The aircraft is flown remotely from a ground control station by a pilot using conventional aircraft controls and instrumentation, while looking at a monitor fed by a forward-looking camera on the aircraft.

Up to 25 flights are planned to gather data in these low-speed flight regimes. Then, the X-48B may be used to test the aircraft's low-noise and handling characteristics at transonic speeds.

Two X-48B research vehicles were built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd., in England, in accordance with Boeing specifications. The vehicle that flew on July 20, known as Ship 2, was also used for ground and taxi testing. Ship 1, a duplicate, was used for the wind tunnel tests. Ship 1 is available for use as a backup during the flight test program.

So far, so good as the Skyray 48 team works through the late summer heat of the Mojave Desert as they continue blazing a trail with this futuristic aircraft design.

Bron: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070919174711.htm

Meer foto's: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/X-48B/Small/index.html

 

tja....ik zie er veel in van een boeing 777, vleugel profiel is wel uiterst kritiesch! zal wel n aantal machjes vliegen denk:d

 

Wat een afgrijselijk lelijk ding zeg
Ik moet er niet veel van hebben in iedergeval!

 

Blended wings zijn uitsluitend subsonisch. Dus de "machjes" vallen je denk ik tegen.

 

Is dit niet die kist die pas hier op het forum besproken is als de boeing die de a380 moest verslaan qua aantal passagiers??
Is niet de mooiste kist om op de foto te zien maar om hem in het echt voorbij te zien komen lijkt me toch een geweldig gezicht.
Wat doet dat zwarte ding dat achter het toestel uitsteekt achter de middenste motor daar?? Heeft vast een bepaalde functie, maar
kan het me zo niet bedenken.

 

Er zullen vast veel passagiers in gaan passen alleen lijkt het mij toch wel prettig om ook nog een beetje naar buiten te kunnen kijken ...

Mark

 

Ja vind ik ook wel fijn, toch zie ik overeenkomsten:boeing 797??

 

Dat is ook niet zo raar, aangezien het toestel in dat topic, hetzelfde is.

Ik vind 'm op sommige punten (algehele vorm) wel mooi, maar op andere punten (landingsgestel, cockpit) lelijk.

 

With its spin parachute tail stinger extending aft, Boeing's sub-scale X-48B Blended Wing Body technology demonstrator shows off its clean semi-triangular shape.

 

Het gaat hier wel om een 8.5% schaalmodel, met een spanwijdte van 6.4m.

Komt pas goed uit, als je er een "echt" toestel achter ziet staan...

 

Zier er bekend uit, die paarse turbines...

3x JetCat P200 turbines...