Andrew Yee[_1_]
June 13th 08, 02:45 AM
Gray Creech
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. May 21, 2008
661-276-2662
Tom Koehler, Communications
Boeing Engineering, Operations & Technology
425-373-2921
RELEASE: 08-21
X-48B Blended Wing Body Flight Tests Enter Second Phase
EDWARDS, Calif. -- NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center and The Boeing Co.
are expanding the flight envelope for the X-48B blended wing body research
aircraft.
Flight tests with the 500-pound, remotely piloted test vehicle are now in a
second phase involving higher speed regimes. The 21-foot wing span test
aircraft is flying without its slats deployed. Slats are flight control
surfaces on the leading edges of wings which, when extended, allow an
aircraft to take off, fly and land at slower speeds.
X-48B flight testing is taking place at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center
on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. NASA Dryden is providing critical support
to a Boeing-led project team that also includes the U.S. Air Force Research
Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, and Cranfield Aerospace Ltd., of Bedford,
England.
"The first flight in the slats-retracted configuration marked another
milestone in aviation history and the performance of the X-48 aircraft
continues to exceed our expectations," said Tim Risch, NASA X-48B project
manager. "This flight milestone reinforced the productive relationship of
the NASA, Boeing and Air Force team and NASA's continued commitment to
developing the concepts, tools and technologies for the aircraft of the
future."
"We want to fully understand the aerodynamics of the blended wing body
design all the way up to and beyond stall, so that we can learn how to fly a
blended wing body aircraft as safely as any other large transport aircraft
with a conventional tail," said Norm Princen, Boeing's X-48B chief engineer.
"This latest phase of the flight testing is one more step in the process and
we are looking forward to progressing on to more risky flight maneuvers in
the months ahead."
Initial envelope expansion flights of the aircraft, known as Block 1,
consisted of 11 flights and incorporated slow-speed testing with bolt-on
leading edge slats in the extended position. Block 2 flights began on April
4. The X-48B first flew on July 20, 2007.
Now with a clean leading edge, the subscale aircraft, dubbed Skyray, takes
off and lands at speeds of about 75 knots compared to 60 knots in Block 1.
Data will be taken up to a maximum speed of 118 knots.
At least eight flights are scheduled for Block 2. A total of six phases are
slated for the project, each progressively increasing the level of risk. The
final phase, Block 6, is designed to push the aircraft's flight parameters
by testing the departure limiter, a critical part of the flight control
software that is designed as a safety feature to prevent the aircraft from
departing controlled flight.
NASA's participation in the blended wing body research effort is focused on
fundamental, advanced flight dynamics and structural design concepts within
the Subsonic Fixed Wing Project, part of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program
managed by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Washington.
Potential benefits of the aircraft under investigation include 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 the
research on the aerodynamics and controllability of the shape, including
comparisons of the flight data with the extensive wind-tunnel database.
In addition to hosting the X-48B flight test and research activities, Dryden
provides engineering and technical support -- expertise garnered from years
of operating cutting-edge air vehicles. Dryden assists with the hardware and
software validation and verification process, the integration and testing of
the aircraft's systems and the pilot's ground control station. Dryden's
range group provides critical telemetry and command and control
communications during X-48B flights, while Dryden Flight Operations provides
a chase aircraft and flight scheduling. Photo and video support complement
the effort.
Members of the Boeing Phantom Works research and technology organization,
based in Huntington Beach, Calif., designed the X-48B flight test aircraft
in cooperation with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to
gather detailed information about the stability and flight-control
characteristics of the blended wing body design, especially during takeoffs
and landings.
Three small jet engines enable the composite-skinned, 8.5-percent scale
vehicle to fly up to an altitude of 10,000 feet. The aircraft is flown
remotely from a ground control station with the pilot using conventional
aircraft controls and instrumentation while viewing a monitor fed by a
forward-looking camera on the aircraft.
Two X-48B research vehicles were built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd. Ship 1, a
duplicate of the Ship 2 flight test aircraft, completed extensive wind
tunnel testing in 2006 in the full-scale wind tunnel at the NASA Langley
Research Center in Hampton, Va. Ship 1 remains available for use as a backup
during the flight test program.
New X-48B flight photos are available online at:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/X-48B/index.html
More information about X-48B flight research is available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-090-DFRC.html
For more information on NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate,
visit:
http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. May 21, 2008
661-276-2662
Tom Koehler, Communications
Boeing Engineering, Operations & Technology
425-373-2921
RELEASE: 08-21
X-48B Blended Wing Body Flight Tests Enter Second Phase
EDWARDS, Calif. -- NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center and The Boeing Co.
are expanding the flight envelope for the X-48B blended wing body research
aircraft.
Flight tests with the 500-pound, remotely piloted test vehicle are now in a
second phase involving higher speed regimes. The 21-foot wing span test
aircraft is flying without its slats deployed. Slats are flight control
surfaces on the leading edges of wings which, when extended, allow an
aircraft to take off, fly and land at slower speeds.
X-48B flight testing is taking place at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center
on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. NASA Dryden is providing critical support
to a Boeing-led project team that also includes the U.S. Air Force Research
Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, and Cranfield Aerospace Ltd., of Bedford,
England.
"The first flight in the slats-retracted configuration marked another
milestone in aviation history and the performance of the X-48 aircraft
continues to exceed our expectations," said Tim Risch, NASA X-48B project
manager. "This flight milestone reinforced the productive relationship of
the NASA, Boeing and Air Force team and NASA's continued commitment to
developing the concepts, tools and technologies for the aircraft of the
future."
"We want to fully understand the aerodynamics of the blended wing body
design all the way up to and beyond stall, so that we can learn how to fly a
blended wing body aircraft as safely as any other large transport aircraft
with a conventional tail," said Norm Princen, Boeing's X-48B chief engineer.
"This latest phase of the flight testing is one more step in the process and
we are looking forward to progressing on to more risky flight maneuvers in
the months ahead."
Initial envelope expansion flights of the aircraft, known as Block 1,
consisted of 11 flights and incorporated slow-speed testing with bolt-on
leading edge slats in the extended position. Block 2 flights began on April
4. The X-48B first flew on July 20, 2007.
Now with a clean leading edge, the subscale aircraft, dubbed Skyray, takes
off and lands at speeds of about 75 knots compared to 60 knots in Block 1.
Data will be taken up to a maximum speed of 118 knots.
At least eight flights are scheduled for Block 2. A total of six phases are
slated for the project, each progressively increasing the level of risk. The
final phase, Block 6, is designed to push the aircraft's flight parameters
by testing the departure limiter, a critical part of the flight control
software that is designed as a safety feature to prevent the aircraft from
departing controlled flight.
NASA's participation in the blended wing body research effort is focused on
fundamental, advanced flight dynamics and structural design concepts within
the Subsonic Fixed Wing Project, part of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program
managed by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Washington.
Potential benefits of the aircraft under investigation include 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 the
research on the aerodynamics and controllability of the shape, including
comparisons of the flight data with the extensive wind-tunnel database.
In addition to hosting the X-48B flight test and research activities, Dryden
provides engineering and technical support -- expertise garnered from years
of operating cutting-edge air vehicles. Dryden assists with the hardware and
software validation and verification process, the integration and testing of
the aircraft's systems and the pilot's ground control station. Dryden's
range group provides critical telemetry and command and control
communications during X-48B flights, while Dryden Flight Operations provides
a chase aircraft and flight scheduling. Photo and video support complement
the effort.
Members of the Boeing Phantom Works research and technology organization,
based in Huntington Beach, Calif., designed the X-48B flight test aircraft
in cooperation with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to
gather detailed information about the stability and flight-control
characteristics of the blended wing body design, especially during takeoffs
and landings.
Three small jet engines enable the composite-skinned, 8.5-percent scale
vehicle to fly up to an altitude of 10,000 feet. The aircraft is flown
remotely from a ground control station with the pilot using conventional
aircraft controls and instrumentation while viewing a monitor fed by a
forward-looking camera on the aircraft.
Two X-48B research vehicles were built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd. Ship 1, a
duplicate of the Ship 2 flight test aircraft, completed extensive wind
tunnel testing in 2006 in the full-scale wind tunnel at the NASA Langley
Research Center in Hampton, Va. Ship 1 remains available for use as a backup
during the flight test program.
New X-48B flight photos are available online at:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/X-48B/index.html
More information about X-48B flight research is available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-090-DFRC.html
For more information on NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate,
visit:
http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov