For Release: Dec. 4, 1997
Janice Johnson
(757) 864-6123
RELEASE NO. 97-130
EVOLUTION OF THE BLENDED-WING-BODY SUBSONIC TRANSPORT
Challenges like tripling of passenger air travel from 1995 to
2015 and pressures on the aircraft industry to produce lower ticket
prices while remaining economically viable have prompted the
aviation industry to study revolutionary technologies. On Tuesday,
Dec. 9, Robert Liebeck, a Senior Fellow at The Boeing Company, Long
Beach, will present the Blended-Wing-Body concept currently under
study.
The Blended-Wing-Body is a thick "flying wing" which would carry
800 passengers more than 7000 miles in a double-deck compartment
that blends into the wing - almost twice the capacity of a Boeing
747-400. Adjacent to the passenger section is room for baggage and
cargo. By integrating engines, wing, and body into a single lifting
surface, the overall efficiency will be maximized.
Liebeck has been instrumental in the application of "flying
wing" technology to the subsonic passenger aircraft. He is a member
of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a fellow of the
Institute for the Advancement of Engineering. Liebeck has received
numerous awards and this year was a keynote speaker to the White
House Commission on Aviation Safety & Security.
A media briefing will be held at 1:15 p.m. in the Wythe Room of
the NASA Langley H.J.E. Reid Conference Center, 14 Langley
Boulevard in Hampton. Media who wish to attend this briefing should
contact Janice Johnson (757) 864-6123. Liebeck's talk begins at 2
p.m.
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