Blended Wing Body Concept

Looks similar to something Aerospatiale (as was) showed at several Air Shows some years ago, as well as what Boeing's now letting people have peeps at ...
Is this the new "single path" among aircraft designers ???
Is so, what about passenger access and emergency exits ???

@john price: It's not that I think you're a low-grade moron or anything, but I'm guessing that aircraft designers actually do think about "passenger access" and "emergency exits" and even other stuff too!

Are you thinking they're going to roll up to the gate for the first flight and call the control tower to explain that they have to hoist the passengers through a window, one peep at a time? And maybe give each passenger a can opener so they can peel away the hull in case of emergency?

As an aeronautical engineer i am, i assure you we do think about passenger safety and access doors to the plane :)

I am a former Boeing engineer...

@ John Price: The BWB is *far* more fuel efficient than a conventional tubular aircraft fuselage. Almost the entire payload section of the plane develops lift, dramatically reducing take-off fuel consumption and thrust requirements.

The design also allows for greater passenger comfort and access to amenities, and with creative emergency access options, is no more difficult to evacuate than a conventional aircraft. In fact, the Airbus A380 'superjumbo' has had to beg off special consideration for emergency access due to the limitations of a tubular design on such a large scale. BWB's stable rectangular cross section allows egress thru the floor without compromising structural integrity, cargo space, fuel capacity, or perhaps most importantly, the passengers ability to evacuate the aircraft*.

*Floor based escape options in tubular fuselage compromise the aisle access, so that once the escape hatch is opened, some passengers are prevented from safely using either the aisle or the egress.

Actually, Boeing has long since "sewn up" most patentable and industry-secretable technology relating to lifting body and blended-wing designs quite some time ago and then has "sat" on it for at least 10 years because they BELIEVE (based upon NO test-marketing other than among their own not-particularly-innovative-of-late executives, the 747 excepted) that the admittedly EXCEEDINGLY limited direct passenger views out of any windows would render such an aircraft "unmarketable."

All of this despite

1. much lower takeoff speeds, greatly reducing takeoff noise, strains on engines, TYRES (viz. the ONLY Concorde crash!) and airframe,

2. despite GREAT advantages in fuel efficiency (~50% per aircraft weight mile, by some estimates, and Deity only knows what per passenger mile!!!),

3. despite at least arguably—based upon one test-piloted crash of a lifting-body design—MUCH greater passenger and crew crash survivability,

4. despite the fact that XXIst Century video technology could EASILY make virtually identical-to-Mark-1-Eyeball visibility in any direction available, at the push of a button, to every passenger on the high-definition screen that will already be in front of him or her, and

5. despite the fact that NOBODY disputes that it would, in any case, be a helluva CARGO design!

Boeing (Airbus, McDonnell Douglas??), are you listening?!?

[Oh I forgot, Boeing ate McDonnell Douglas a while back, dammit!]