UPDATE 6:06 p.m. EST – Video and photo added. NASA’s next-
generation blended-wing-body aircraft completed its first flight
today at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The X-48C is the
latest in a series of designs from the Boeing/NASA partnership
to explore the design, using a a large, delta-shaped fuselage
rather than a traditional tube to boost efficiency. The new
version, which, like the older version, is a scale model with a
wingspan of about 20 feet, is designed to evaluate low-speed
stability and a low-noise design. The X-48C started life as the
X-48B which made 92 flights between 2007 and 2010. The main
changes were moving the winglets to the top of the fuselage next
to the engines and extending the aft deck of the airplane. Both
of these changes were part of the new design’s aim at reducing
noise from the engines. And the number of engines on the X-48
has been reduced from three to two, each producing 89 pounds of
thrust. AutomotiveNews reports that Mazda seeks to take their
ideas of lightweight ca