X-48C goes from pieces to wind tunnel model
3,920 views · Published 10 February 2011 · 0:52 · Indexed 2 October 2026
Channel: NASA Langley Research Center · 2011 · Science & Technology
How long does it take to put together a 21-foot aircraft prototype? Not long when you have a camera set up to record a time lapse video. This is the X-48C being assembled at NASA's Langley Research Center. Boeing Research & Technology has partnered with NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to explore the structural, aerodynamic and operational advantages of an advanced concept called the blended wing body or BWB. NASA has flight tested one version of the prototype, called the X-48B, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. The other one, the X-48C, has been modified to make it quieter. Those modifications include reducing the number of engines from three to two and the installation of noise-shielding vertical fins. It is scheduled to fly in the future at Dryden. Made primarily of advanced lightweight composite materials, the prototypes weigh about 400 pounds each. The Air Force is interested in a full-scale version's potential as a multi-role, long-range, high-capacity military aircraft.
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