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  • [♪♪] [female narrator] Look ahead--decades ahead.

  • Imagine the future of flight.

  • Will it be like it is today? Not likely.

  • Not with dwindling supplies of fossil fuels.

  • That's why Boeing and NASA have partnered to create an experimental aircraft

  • that could change the course of aviation.

  • It's called the Blended Wing Body, or sometimes the BWB.

  • The program is led by Bob Liebeck,

  • developer of the most efficient wing design ever created.

  • NASA started the BWB

  • [Bob Liebeck - Chief Scientist and Manager, Blended Wing Body Project]

  • when they asked us, "Could we do a different kind of airplane?"

  • And we came up with the BWB.

  • [narrator] The Blended Wing Body is a cross between a conventional subsonic airplane

  • and a flying wing.

  • An awe-inspiring manta ray shape, the wings and body are a single blended unit.

  • Everything works together to provide lift.

  • Since there is no conventional tail, the biggest challenge was with flight controls.

  • But Bob and his team came up with a number of advancements

  • that provide a high degree of flight stability and control.

  • [Liebeck] Engineers provide solutions to problems.

  • Right now, the fuel crisis, whether it's the pollution or the price of gasoline,

  • we'd like to use less fuel.

  • Engineers are going to solve that.

  • The success of the BWB program is due to this group of 12 or so very gifted engineers.

  • Without them, it wouldn't have worked.

  • [narrator] The team came up with a sleek, aerodynamic design.

  • The BWB could have lower drag and greater lift than conventional airplanes.

  • It could also offer greater range along with larger payload capacity.

  • More than anything, the BWB demonstrates that a new type of aircraft

  • may help the world of aviation become dramatically more fuel efficient.

  • [Liebeck] Fuel burn compared to a conventional subsonic transport

  • is 20% or more less.

  • And with the engines above the fuselage or above the center body,

  • noise is shielded, and it's estimated that the BWB is 50 decibels quieter

  • around an airport than a conventional transport.

  • This could enable 24/7 operation of a BWB.

  • [narrator] The Blended Wing Body is more than an idea;

  • it's an experimental aircraft in active test today.

  • [Liebeck] The first flight of the airplane, taking off, is still the proudest thing I can ever think of.

  • Something that you helped create taking off out of Edwards Air Force Base

  • with all its history--it doesn't get any better.

  • [♪♪]

  • [Boeing - Copyright © 2012 Boeing. All rights reserved.]

[♪♪] [female narrator] Look ahead--decades ahead.

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