Originally Posted by
Cyberhacker
Indeed, NASA were doing this over ten years ago! I was very amused at how much publicity this has received everywhere. Airbus'
PR division sure knows how to create viral fluff (another example being their electric demonstrator aircraft, receiving much fanfare when other manufacturers such as Pipistrel were already producing useful electrics). As for the blended wing design, it has many flaws as a passenger transport concept, as mentioned by others. To me, a more interesting concept from the same NASA/Boeing research stable is the D8, Mark Drela's twin-aisle double-bubble design, but it also suffers from too shallow a cargo hold. High tail-mounted engines are not new, if you recall the DC-10/MD-11, but the airflow problems may not yet have been resolved. Unfortunately, we seem to be stuck with the general layout pioneered by the Dash-80/KC-135/B707, which is aesthetically boring but no doubt economical for the airlines.