THE NEXT BIG THING
If you're at all interested in planes, especially amazing ones like the Boeing 747, there's some good news and some bad news.
The good news first. Gizmodo has the following story:
"It may look like a stealth fighter jet, but Boeing is hoping its new X-48B aircraft will become the commercial airliner of the future.
The blended-wing plane—a name given to planes that merge the fuselage and wings into one—eliminates the tail part of a plane (which is usually the part of the plane responsible for
lagdrag). In doing so, the X-48B uses up to 30% less gas than a typical airliner."
As I mentioned in a post two years ago on the Airbus 380, the aircraft that most people assume will take the place of the venerable 747, the 380 doesn't take the baton from the 747. at least in my personal opinion.
And no, Boeing's upcoming 787 (aka "the Dreamliner"), though very practical, doesn't come close to replacing the 747 in terms of radical design.
But I'm biased. I have a particularly strong opinion on the subject.
You see, I've been partial to the 747 since it first made it's first commercial flight in 1970. I wasn't even a teenager then.
So it's exciting to see that Boeing potentially has something has radical to succeed the 747, as the 747 was when it was introduced.
What's the bad news, you ask? Well, it's the second part of what Gizmodo reports:
"Boeing hopes to have a military version of the plane ready by 2022, and a passenger model by 2030."
Over two decades to wait before we get to board one of these. Something to look forward to, don't you think?
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