The flying wing is nothing new to the aviation world, although it looks like a concept from the future. The basic premise of the design is a large, triangle shaped fuselage with control surfaces on the back, either above or within the wing/fuselage. Back in 2013, a fake Boeing 797 mockup went viral showing a tri-engine, delta wing prototype under construction. More recently, KLM announced a project to build a new commercial jet airliner, for using on the flying wing for range and sustainability. So, is the flying wing feasible? And is it sustainable?
If development of a new wing-fuselage aircraft started tomorrow, how much would it cost? A design like this is new for commercial use, but not for the military. Using similar tooling and designs as the B-2 Spirit, without the stealth features, would make the cost of a prototype around $400 million. Similar to how the 707 and KC-135 were built with the same parts and equipment, the commercial flying wing would need to be hollowed and expanded to be suitable for long range and able to compete with the 787 or A350. The biggest challenge, however, is fuel storage. In modern aircraft, the majority of fuel is stored in the wings. However, passengers have to sit near the outside of the aircraft to escape during emergencies. Fuel tanks will have to be shrunk to allow for extra seats, thereby reducing the range. Another problem that needs to be addressed is slats usability. The designs will need to be able to fly at low speeds as slat deployment is impossible with passengers seated at the wing edges. Finally, if seat configuration is wide body on both sides of the wing, more emergency exists will be needed to compensate for the lack of escape routes for the seats facing the inside of the aircraft. All these challenges, though difficult to solve, are not impossible.
The question on sustainability is also up in the air. The popular “797” picture depicts the aircraft with three engines. However, in order to save fuel burn, these flying wings would likely have two larger engines. Larger wings also enable the plane to fly more sustainably due to the fact that less power is required to generate lift. This also helps combat the slat problem mentioned before. If the wing-fuselage is too large, however, it may not be able to fit into airport parking slots. The problem with fuel storage may also cause problems if the airplane uses less-powerful biofuels instead of conventional jet fuel. If a large variant of this concept does succeed, it would likely be more efficient, and therefore profitable, than the A380 of 747.
Flying wings are revolutionary in their beauty but also promise in efficiency. In the not so far future, we all may set foot on anew design able to take us anywhere while still protecting the environment.