Thursday, August 9, 2012

Fuel-efficient NASA X-plane 'quietly' takes to the air

10 hrs.

The newest generation of NASA?s blended-wing-body aircraft took to the skies for the first time Tuesday, showcasing what could be the?shape of fuel-efficient and less-noisy aviation within a few decades.

The X-48C is a remotely piloted scale model of the futuristic plane. Its triangular shape looks more like a slice of flying pizza than the traditional tube-and-wing designs that currently populate the skies.

NASA and Boeing are collaborating on the futuristic project, aiming to build a plane for military and civilian use that is vastly more fuel efficient and quieter than those in the skies now.

The latest version, much like the earlier versions in the X-48 series, is a scaled-down model with a 21-foot wing span and weighs 500 pounds. Full size, the wings would stretch 240 feet tip-to-tip.

The first flight was a nine-minute jaunt at Edwards Air Force Base in California, topping out at an altitude of 5,500 feet. The X-48C has a projected top speed of 140 miles per hour and maximum altitude of 10,000 feet. (Video, click here.)

The X-48C is a modified version of the X-48B which flew 92 times between 2007 and 2010. The biggest changes are relocation of the wingtip winglets inboard next to the engines, effectively turning them into twin tails, and a two-foot?extension of the aft deck.

In addition, the plane now?has two 89-pound thrust turbojet engines instead of three 50-pound thrust engines.?

The modifications will allow the partners to evaluate low-speed stability and control as well as noise-shielding concepts.

?We are thrilled to get back in the air to start collecting data in this low-noise configuration,? Heather Maliska, NASA Dryden?s project manager, said in a news release.?

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/technology/futureoftech/fuel-efficient-nasa-x-plane-quietly-takes-air-931013

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