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a nasa dryden air force research

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laboratory and boeing phantom works team

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has finished its first phase of flight

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tests on the subscale x-48b blended wing

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body aircraft at the dryden flight

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research center

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the team is studying the structural

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aerodynamic and operational advantages

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of the blended wing body concept a cross

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between a conventional plane and a

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flying wing design the flight was

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structured into three major objectives

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the first one was what we called

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envelope expansion

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and in those flights what we were

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looking for was to just understand in

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general how the plane behaved

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during standard maneuvers like takeoff

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and landing the second objective was

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what we call the characterization phase

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in which we undertook a variety of

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maneuvers that looked at for example

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stall characteristics the third

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objective was finally what we call

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limiter assaults and the goal there is

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to ensure that even if the pilot under

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the worst case condition would try to

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put the aircraft

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into a condition

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that could cause it to stall or spin or

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something like that

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the internal software prevents the pilot

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from doing that the remotely piloted

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500-pound airplane has a silhouette

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resembling a manta ray also called a

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hybrid wing body and is dynamically

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scaled to fly much like a full-size

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aircraft x-48b is a component of nasa's

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work to develop cleaner quieter and more

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fuel-efficient airplanes for the future

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it is at least probably 30 percent more

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efficient than a conventional tube and

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wing aircraft the team completed the

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80th and last flight of the project's

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first phase on march 19 2010. the next