Aircraft

^{ROB COPPINGER/LONDON}

A month-long series of windtunnel tests of different flight-control surface configurations for a military blended wing body (BWB) aircraft was to be completed on 12 May. The Cranfield Aerospace-built, Boeing Phantom Works-designed BWB has been flown at low speeds in NASA Langley Research Center’s windtunnel, managed by Virginia-based Old Dominion University. The 6.4m (21ft)-span, 8.5%-scale model has 20 control surfaces along the trailing edge of the wing. Almost all surfaces are only hinged, but the outermost surfaces have a clamshell-type split, like the Northrop Grumman B-2. The model is flight capable. A second aircraft will be remotely flown this year at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.