5/5/2023 0 Comments Flying wing airfoil![]() A year later, the YB-49 took its maiden flight in California.ĭespite its early success, the YB-49 project was cancelled in 1948 following an accident that killed two test pilots and three engineers. Jet propulsion was then added to the YB-35 model, creating the YB-49. In 1946, the XB-35 took its first test flight. Northrop began improving on the N-1M and developed the XB-35 and YB-35, both of which were propeller-powered flying wings. The YB-49 was the culmination of years of development, which began with the Northrop Model 1 (N-1M), a twin-engine flying model, in 1939. pioneered the flying-wing design and developed the YB-49, which first flew in 1947. Army Air Corps to build a longer-range bomber during World War II. Later, Northrop's company was one of those contracted by the U.S. (known today as Northrop Grumman), led the design of several military planes based on the flying-wing design. Beginning in the late 1920s, Jack Northrop, founder of Northrop Aircraft Co. In fact, the flying-wing design dates back to the first half of the 20th century. In this article, you'll learn how researchers are transferring this once military-only design over to commercial airplanes, and what still needs to be done before you'll be able to board one of these strange-looking aircraft.Īnyone who has seen the B-2 stealth bomber knows that the flying wing isn't new to military aircraft. The flying-wing design is not revolutionary, but it has never before been used for passenger airplanes. ![]() The blended-wing body concept may ease travel woes. The flying-wing design fuses together the wings and fuselage into one sleek vehicle that resembles a boomerang. The new blended-wing body, or "flying wing," design does away with the cigar-shaped fuselage and tail section that have been mainstays of modern passenger planes since they took off in the 1930s. Responding to the sharp increase in travellers, Boeing and NASA are developing a new kind of passenger airplane that will be able to carry 800 passengers per flight, which is about 160 more than a 747. In a recent report, the FAA projected a 63-percent increase in air passengers, from 733 million in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2012. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warns that if the industry doesn't make changes now, air travel will only get worse. If you've flown lately, you've witnessed the congestion and flight delays. More people are flying than ever before, and the increase in air traffic has created a bottleneck at airports around the world.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |