It would appear Boeing’s next airplane may not incorporate any of the unconventional design concepts that have been touted in the quest for fuel efficiency. The company and NASA announced they were essentially shelving a joint project to design a clean-sheet single-aisle airliner using aerodynamic struts to support extra long glider-like wings. NASA was looking to spend $425 million while Boeing and “industry partners” were going to chip in $725 million to get a prototype of the X-66A in the air in the next three to four years as part of the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project. It’s likely a realignment of priorities under new CEO Kelly Ortberg to fix the numerous issues that have plagued the company in recent years is behind the move.
In announcing the “pause” in the flight program, Boeing and NASA said they would instead partner on a ground-based program. “We have learned a lot in the past few years partnering with NASA on the X-66 program that will influence the future generations of airplane design. Going forward, we will focus efforts on the single most-promising design feature … the thin-wing design,” Boeing said in a statement to the Seattle Times. The partners estimated they could cut fuel burn by about 10 percent on the strutted design.
