Written on March 28, 2008 – 8:01 am | by Bogdan Alex |

I’m sure at least some of you liked to play with all sorts of aircraft toys when you were kids. A couple of months ago, I saw some guys flying small-scale helicopters while using remote controls. Cool hobby, but most of the RC models have a limited range and a restrictive battery life. NASA, on the other hand, thinks that RC models can someday be used as commercial airline planes.

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. Keep in mind it’s still in the prototype phase and it can evolve into a more complex model. For now, it has a 21-foot wingspan, weighs 500 pounds and is remotely piloted, being designed designed to demonstrate the viability of the blended wing shape. Check it out in a test flight.



For its first six test flights the miniature RC plane behaved flawlessly. That’s why NASA immediately became 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 the initial flights, the principal focus was 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.

How about that? One day we might see radio controlled airliners that could carry hundreds of people and being piloted by sophisticated ground computers. Then there’ll be no more 9/11 attacks. Hmmm, maybe they can hack the computers and get a hold of those planes… drats!