22nd Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Harrogate, UK, 28 August - 1st September, 2000
Paper ICAS 2000-1.1.4

COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS BLENDED WING BODY AIRLINER DEVELOPMENT ¨PROGRAM

H. Smith
College of Aeronautics, Cranfield University, UK

Keywords: blended wing body, flying wing, aircraft design

Continued pressure to achieve reductions in direct operating costs (D. O. C.) combined with ever tightening environmental constraints has left the aircraft designer with little option but to explore the possibilities offered by more novel configurations. This paper describes the programme of activities currently underway at the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, that is intended to objectively evaluate the advantages and challenges inherent in the Blended Wing Body (BWB) configuration. The programme incorporates the development of a sub scale flying demonstrator facility that should provide the capability to reduce risk in major advanced configurations studies in a highly cost-effective manner.

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