June 16, 2023 – 6:29 PM
Illustration: NASA
Boeing and NASA have presented the first result of their joint project called the ‘Sustainable Flight Demonstration’: a plan for a passenger aircraft that consumes 30% less than current state-of-the-art machines, is more environmentally friendly, sustainable and, last but not least, cheaper to operate.
The aircraft currently operates under the codename X-66A, with X denoting experimental, just as F (fighter) is used to denote fighters and B (bomber) is used to denote bombers. At the moment, the X-66A does not even exist at the prototype level, only on paper and in the form of digital models, but according to Boeing’s plans, it will be able to conduct live tests by the end of the 2020s and start operating in the fleets of airlines in the 2030s.
Unusually growing from the top of the fuselage, the upper part of the aircraft’s bizarre double wing is long and thin. The other, smaller wing is more unusual because it points forward. According to promises, this X-shaped construction will provide less air resistance and more buoyancy, so the aircraft will be able to maintain a speed of 900-1000 km / h with a fuel economy of 30%.
(JalopnikAnd popular science)
