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NASA Meatball X-4B Blended Wing Body Photo Collection banner
 
X-4B Blended Wing Body

A pristine blue sky backdrops the X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft during the aircraft's first flight July 20, 2007, from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

 
Photo Number: ED07-0164-05
Photo Date: July 20, 2007
 
Formats: 640x621 JPEG Image (181 KBytes)
1280x1242 JPEG Image (685 KBytes)
3000x2910 JPEG Image (4136 KBytes)
 
Photo
Description:
A pristine blue sky backdrops the X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft during the aircraft's first flight July 20, 2007, from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.
 
Project
Description:
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.
 
NASA Photo by: Carla Thomas
 
Keywords: Blended Wing Body, X-48B, X-48, subscale demonstrator, initial flight tests, Boeing Phantom Works
 


Last Modified: September 12, 2007
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