The Next Big Thing : Blended Wing Aircraft

Next up is a slightly more long-term prospect for cutting fuel use. Blended wing concepts have gained a lot of attention over the years, from the SAX 40 Silent Aircraft Initiative, which claims efficiency improvements of 35% while also reducing noise significantly. Meanwhile NASA and Boeing have flown some test flights with a remote piloted X-48B blended wing, closely resembles a flying wing though it differs in having its wing blend into a flat, tailless fuselage. This allows the aircraft to gain additional left with less drag — which leads to reduced fuel usage at ideal cruise conditions.which achieved fuel efficiency reductions of around 27%. But even when we do finally see commercially viable blended wings gracing our skies, they are not without their own drawbacks - in particular, critics have raised concerns about passenger comfort when banking if seated out on the extremities of the 'wing'