A new configuration of a blended wing body (BWB) aircraft designed by Boeing successfully completed its first test flight at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The remote-controlled X-48C is a modified version of the X-48B aircraft, which NASA flew 92 times between 2007 and 2010. The 21-foot wide, 500-pound X-48C is an 8.5 percent scale model of a heavy-lift, subsonic airplane that potentially could be developed for military applications in the next 15 to 20 years. "Primary changes to the C model from the B model... were geared to transforming it to an airframe noise-shielding configuration," according to NASA. "External modifications included relocating the wingtip winglets inboard next to the engines, effectively turning them into twin tails. The aft deck of the aircraft was extended about 2 feet to the rear. Finally, the project team replaced the X-48B's three 50-pound thrust jet engines with two 89-pound thrust engines."
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