McDonnell Douglas & Boeing BWB projects

[VTOLicious]

Out of curiosity I have tried to determine the CG-position with a rather simple freeware-tool. I´ve used the 3-view previously posted by obb.

After having a closer look at pics of the real model I noticed that the location of the main gear and the markings on top of the center body don´t match the drawing!

See pics attached...what do you think?

 

[AeroFranz]

VTOLicious, i congratulate you for trying to reverse engineer the cg location on the X-48...with most aircraft this approach would be valid, but with blended wings it's difficult to calculate the center of lift (for example: the centerbody probably does not lift as well as the proper wings). Still, it could possibly work. There's other ways, likely to be about as accurate and definitely easier.
If you want to find the cg location, a good rule of thumb is that it lies on a line 15 degrees ahead of the vertical line passing through the ground contact point of the main landing gear, as seen on a side view. You have to guess where along that line the cg is, but the X-48 is fairly flat, so you can probably achieve decent accuracy.
Good luck!

 

[Triton]

"Blended Wing Body: The shape of things to come" video by Boeing:

Learn about Blended Wing Body aircraft, a remotely piloted experimental jet shaped like a manta ray. Engineer Bob Liebeck explains how Boeing is working with NASA to explore fuel savings and other potential benefits of this exciting airplane design.

http://youtu.be/lxM_D93gHJY

 

[hesham]

Hi,


http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19950005076_1995105076.pdf

 

[Retrofit]

Hi,

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA526601&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

Who knows what the (Boeing BWB) EET stands for exactly?
Thanks in advance.

 

[flateric]

It's said right there - Energy Efficient Transport

 

[Vahe Demirjian]

There is an artist's rendering of a military version of the Boeing BWB in the 1999/2000 edition of Jane's All the World's Aircraft under the heading Blended Wing Body, showing that Boeing saw the potential of the Blended Wing Body to be used for military purposes. Is it possible that Boeing was considering using its BWB concept for a wide variety of military applications as early as the mid-1990s in case the airline industry's reception of the BWB concept turned out to be poor?

 

[Vahe Demirjian]

For anyone curious to see the latest news on the X-48 program.....

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57579449-76/boeings-futuristic-x-48c-makes-final-flight/

Now that the X-48C test flight program is complete, Boeing can now move on to its next phase of the BWB project ---- building a full-sized BWB prototype in order to finally prove to the airlines and the military that the BWB concept is viable enough to be a practical flying machine.

 

[Stargazer]

I thought the next phase was to get a military contract... a much more realistic goal I think.

 

[BioLuminescentLamprey]

I think this design would would great with airlift and IFR.

Does anyone have an opinion on the possible engine configuration a low observable military BWB might use? B2 style exhaust-cooling trenches, buried in the body would of course come to mind as a start...

 

[Vahe Demirjian]

I thought the next phase was to get a military contract... a much more realistic goal I think.

So far, the US Air Force hasn't given any indication that it plans to procure a military derivative of the X-48. Any decision to purchase military versions of the X-48 as the C-42 and KC-42 depends not just on testing of a full-scale version of the X-48 but also the point where the operating cost of the C-5 fleet may no longer be sustainable. The Air Force has been tinkering with ideas for a C-5 replacement with the Global Range Aircraft program, but it hasn't yet issued an RFP for a C-5 replacement.

 

[Grey Havoc]

A couple of GRA (more directly so in the latter) related papers, from 2000 and 2006 respectively:
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a413922.pdf
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a458618.pdf

 

[theponja]

I'm fascinated with this blended bodies.


Maybe is old news but I didn't found any reference to this on the forum:


http://www.twitt.org/BWBBowers.html


The NASA presentation about blended bodies which is very informative about the subject.

 

[Cy-27]

A nice model of the Boeing Phantom Works X-48B BWB on the Cranfield Aerospace exhibition stand at AeroExpo 2015, Sywell, Northampton, UK.

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

I soooo wish I had that!!!!

 

[hesham]

To answer the question here;

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,23227.msg235875.html#msg235875

here is a report for early MD/Boeing BWB aircraft.

http://www.fzt.haw-hamburg.de/pers/Scholz/ewade/2007/EWADE2007_Torenbeek.pdf

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

Santa didn't bring me that BWB model!

 

[jsport]

A couple of GRA (more directly so in the latter) related papers, from 2000 and 2006 respectively:
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a413922.pdf
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a458618.pdf

Great Find Grey. Thought the below from the conclusion of the 2006 was worth specifics.

"This study has found that in the new world of precision munitions, the cost of
maintaining foreign bases needed to support air operation of the current, relatively short-range
USAF is the dominant cost element, consuming up to 50-60% of the total funds. This is a very
significant change from earlier wars, such as Vietnam, where aircraft operations and support
costs dominated. Base costs were not a major element. This stems from spreading a decreased
number of operations (due to precision) over a relatively fixed number of foreign base structures.
Since base costs are not called out explicitly in DoD budgets (indeed are difficult to deduce), the
magnitude of this change has been previously unrecognized.
This gives new impetus to the concept of global range aircraft. In addition to providing
flexibility and a reduction on foreign base dependence, such an aircraft could also significantly
reduce the cost of fighting a modern air war. ..."

 

[bobbymike]

http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/boeing-ponders-reviving-x-48-new-tests?NL=AW-013&Issue=AW-013_20160201_AW-013_315&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_3

How about a version loaded with hypersonic boost glide vehicles.

 

[theponja]

http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/boeing-ponders-reviving-x-48-new-tests?NL=AW-013&Issue=AW-013_20160201_AW-013_315&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_3

How about a version loaded with hypersonic boost glide vehicles.

Sadly is for suscriptors only

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/1.9084?journalCode=ja

 

[GeorgeA]

Boeing OREIO open-rotor BWB cargo design; X-48C derivative.

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20130012906.pdf

 

[quellish]

Much wing. So body.

 

[bobbymike]

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/09/boeing-testing-blended-wing-plane-for.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fadvancednano+%28nextbigfuture%29&utm_content=FaceBook

 

[bobbymike]

http://aviationweek.com/aviation-week-space-technology/military-blended-wing-body-variant-step-closer-reality?NL=AW-19&Issue=AW-19_20170504_AW-19_817&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1&utm_rid=CPEN1000000230026&utm_campaign=9851&utm_medium=email&elq2=fd5034cfec3c4ea5b5ee46e7898bbdfe

 

[hesham]

Hi,

The future development of Boeing’s blended-wing-body (BWB) configuration depends entirely on its suitability for carrying cargo, and in the case of a military tanker-transport in particular, its ability to perform airdrop missions. Key to this capability is an innovative cargo door that Boeing has designed to open like a clamshell in the trailing edge. However, it was unclear what effect such a radical door design opening in midair might have on the airflow around the trailing.

http://aviationweek.com/defense/military-blended-wing-body-variant-step-closer-reality

 

[GeorgeA]

Latest BWB configuration as shown at AIAA Sci-Tech conference:

https://twitter.com/theworacle/status/951104559891599362

 

[sublight_]

bigger

 

[Moose]

Interested to see the doors in action, womder if we'll get a concept video.

 

[bobbymike]

bigger

Always see a nice Arsenal Plane every time..............

 

[GeorgeA]

In-depth article on the latest Boeing BWB iteration (as seen in the tweets from January 2018 upthread).

http://aviationweek.com/aviation-week-space-technology/boeing-refines-military-and-x-plane-blended-wing-designs

May be behind the AWST firewall -- if so, give it a week (typically) and they'll open it up.

 

[GeorgeA]

Latest Boeing BWB configuration as displayed at AIAA SciTech 2019.

 

[Moose]

Thanks for the picture. Was there a blurb accompanying the model? Curious if they said anything about the propulsion beyond "hey it's back to turbofans."

 

[GeorgeA]

Thanks for the picture. Was there a blurb accompanying the model? Curious if they said anything about the propulsion beyond "hey it's back to turbofans."

No, just a company tweet today, along with images of the previously-disclosed hypersonic aircraft and of the transonic strut-braced transport discussed elsewhere.

 

[flateric]

This one along with military HWB version already was at FAS'18

 

[RAP]

Vintage Boeing manufacturer desk model of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) Concept | eBay

The black plastic base mirrors the silhouette of the model. Apart from a repair of a break of the left winglet, the model and stand are in good condition.

www.ebay.com

 

[RAP]

Vintage McDonnell Douglas Manufacturer Desk Model of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) | eBay

It was the result of project studies originally initiated in the late eighties by McDonnell Douglas to design an aircraft capable of efficiently carrying 800 passengers over a range of 7000 nautical miles at Mach 0.85.

www.ebay.com

 

[BESTUZHEV]

Hi,
Sometime, there was an article about boeing bwb bomber project. Is it real or fake, and does anybody has drawing of it? I found just simple bwb with three engines.

 

[Sundog]

I realize you're new here, welcome to the community. However, you did need to read the "Read Me First" post and familiarize yourself with the Search feature. You will be able to answer many of your questions by taking those two steps first. Then after you've exhausted those options, you will be able to ask your question in the appropriate thread.

Regards,

Ken

 

[Archibald]

You have two options

- the forum search engine, right here > https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/search/

- or, the Google way

"Bwb""boeing" site:https://www.secretprojects.co.uk - Google Search

"Bwb""boeing" site:https://www.secretprojects.co.uk