Boeing Truss-Braced Wing concepts & X-66

[Scott Kenny]

Shoulder mount Gull wings with engine nacelles atop them allow fans behind the wings for the best clearance.

That causes lots of stress on the props, though. Not as bad as a Custer channel-wing, but still extra stress as the props go through areas of different air pressure above and below the wing.

 

[windcalm]

Boeing Puts X-66 On Ice But Will Continue Thin Wing Studies | Aviation Week Network

Boeing is pausing development of the X-66 transonic truss-braced wing aircraft with NASA and reallocating resources to get the 737-7, 737-10 and 777X certified.

aviationweek.com

Boeing paused the X-66A project due to resource priorities like 777X and 737 MAX certification, but will continue thin-wing research with NASA to improve fuel efficiency in future aircraft.

 

[TomS]

Well, that's depressing, but hardly surprising. Boeing has backed off so many attempts to explore alternative airliner configurations that I've literally lost track.

 

[alberchico]

So at this point we may not see a next gen narrowbody from either Airbus or Boeing enter service until the late 2030's- 2040. I think both companies realized that with the massive backlog of orders and serious supply chain issues this is not a good time to contemplate launching a new aircraft. Better to wait a few years and get your affairs in order before betting the house on a radical airframe configuration that may end up being either a spectacular success or failure.

 

[Moose]

Well, that's depressing, but hardly surprising. Boeing has backed off so many attempts to explore alternative airliner configurations that I've literally lost track.

Have to imagine they're expecting a funding pullback from NASA/DOGE as well.

 

[TomS]

Have to imagine they're expecting a funding pullback from NASA/DOGE as well.

Yeah, probably.

 

[Nicknick]

So at this point we may not see a next gen narrowbody from either Airbus or Boeing enter service until the late 2030's- 2040. I think both companies realized that with the massive backlog of orders and serious supply chain issues this is not a good time to contemplate launching a new aircraft. Better to wait a few years and get your affairs in order before betting the house on a radical airframe configuration that may end up being either a spectacular success or failure.

The opposite is true. The pre development and design teams are not affected by the hurdles to manufacture current planes fast enough in great numbers. If more planes are being sold, more money for future developments is available. Unlike in military planes, the design of airliners was very predictable in the near past, the only major change was the large scale introduction of carbon fibers.

Right now, Airbus and Boing are quite confused about the future market, they don’t know if and when carbon neutrality will be demanded and how it will be defined. Airbus was focusing on hydrogen and Boing more on SAS, meanwhile Airbus has skipped the hydrogen developments. In any case, alternative fuels will be more expensive than current fuels and fuel efficiency will become even more important. This could open up the chances for new designs like BWB or the less radical trust brace wings. In any case, aircraft designs will become more interesting, if fuel prices will go up by a factor of two or more.

Stopping the development because of being to successful with current designs is a very dangerous approach and has killed many companies before…