According to representatives of Boeing corporation, the aerodynamic forms and schemes of configuration of planes which are widely used today in aircraft reached a limit of the opportunities. Therefore one of world leaders of aircraft industry together with the American Management on aeronautics and space researches (NASA) works more than a decade on alternative option. In the summer of 2012 the third modification of "future plane" for the first time rose in air.
Test flight took place on August 7 at the American air base Edwards in California. Except the press release everyone can see this flight on the posted online video and get an idea of a form of the new aircraft. In it one of variations of the scheme "flying wing" at which the aircraft fuselage after all is present is used, but "is not completely drowned" in pair of wings. Experts call such configuration the case with the mixed wing (blended wing body), and representatives of corporation consider that she will allow to create the plane of big loading capacity to which she at the same time will remain economic and simple in management.
Americans work new configuration of the aircraft not on a full-scale sample, and on the reduced pilotless prototype only 6.4 meters long and weighing 226.8 kilograms. It is already third option constructed by them, and works on the future plane within this program are officially conducted since 2001. For the first time the model which flew up in August has designation X-48C and differs from the version created in 2007 X-48B in a little changed form and lack of wheels of the direction on the ends of wings. Besides, at the new plane - at the predecessor they were only two turbojets three. Boieng and NASA explain changes with the aspiration to achieve the smallest noise level in passenger salon.
The first test flight X-48C lasted only nine minutes, and all for the device the program from 25 starts is planned. His predecessor could keep in air of 40 minutes, rising by three-kilometer height and dispersing up to 219 km/h. About the beginning of production of full-scale "planes of the future" of the speech does not go yet, according to representatives of Boeing before as early as years 15-20.