Blended wing body: The future of passenger aircraft?

Aircraft are masterpieces of engineering. They use the principles of aerodynamics to generate lift and minimize air resistance despite their weight. Modern aircraft do all this with their wings; the fuselage and other parts, such as the engines and tail assembly, increase drag and interfere with perfect aerodynamics. So wouldn’t it be ideal to design the whole aircraft to be buoyant? Over a hundred years ago, engineers were already fascinated by the idea of integrating everything into a giant flying wing: back in 1910, the German aircraft designer Hugo Junkers registered his flying wing patent, which was published in 1912.

And Junkers didn’t stop at theory: as early as 1929, he launched the largest commercial aircraft of the time—the huge Junkers G.38. In addition to housing its engines and fuel tanks on either side, the aircraft’s “thick wing”—which spanned a full 44 meters—could accommodate six passengers, giving each an excellent front-facing view. Today, only the military uses true flying-wing aircraft, such as the U.S. Northrop B-2 and B-21 stealth bombers. These aircraft do without a separate horizontal and vertical stabilizer and combine the fuselage and wings in a flowing shape that resembles a wing.

Blended wing body for passenger flights

For commercial use, there’s an intermediate form between a flying wing and a conventional aircraft: known as the blended wing body (BWB), this concept brings together the conventional combination of tube and wing with the characteristics of a flying wing. The BWB is dominated by a flattened, aerodynamically shaped fuselage that merges smoothly into the wing. Such aircraft have so far been tested only as scaled-down experimental aircraft, such as the X-48 developed by NASA and Boeing, the Airbus MAVERIC, and the BWB-300 developed by the Chinese manufacturer Comac.

The U.S. start-up JetZero has been working on a new BWB generation, called Pathfinder, since 2021. With funding from the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), this project is the closest to realizing a new form of passenger aircraft. Pathfinder will carry roughly 250 passengers and is aimed at the market currently served by Boeing 767 and 787-8 aircraft.

Pathfinder is set to carry passengers in 2030

In JetZero’s design, the aircraft will be no longer than current narrowbody jets, such as the Airbus A321 or the Boeing 757, but will have an impressive wingspan of 58 meters. The manufacturer is Scaled Composites, which is known for building the world’s largest aircraft, Stratolaunch, as well as Virgin Galactic’s carrier and space planes. A scaled-down demonstration model of Pathfinder is already under construction and is scheduled to take its maiden flight in 2027. Pathfinder’s commercial debut is planned for 2030.

Although the aircraft’s shape will be revolutionary, the technology behind it won’t be: “We’ll be relying heavily on existing components. The big innovation is the airplane itself,” explains Tom O’Leary, CEO and cofounder of JetZero. “But by using existing, certified components, such as turbofan engines for narrowbody aircraft, we can speed up the development process.” For its base model, JetZero has opted for the Pratt & Whitney PW2043.

Easier to accommodate hydrogen tanks in a BWB

Alaska Airlines and the British low-cost airline easyJet are also banking on the BWB for the future. “The BWB has the potential to maximize efficiency while reducing fuel consumption and emissions by up to 50 percent,” explains David Morgan, Chief Operating Officer of easyJet. “The option to run Pathfinder on hydrogen in the future plays an important role.” The BWB’s curved shape can accommodate bulky hydrogen tanks in a more space-saving manner. “For airlines like easyJet, this means that a slightly bigger aircraft can both carry hydrogen and transport the same number of passengers as today,” O’Leary says.

It’s up to airline partners to clarify how airports could handle Pathfinder given its considerable wing dimensions. “An easyJet terminal can’t deal with a widebody aircraft,” O’Leary says, “but it can handle Pathfinder. You might have to adjust the line markings on the ground and reposition the passenger boarding bridges, but it will all be done using the same terminal.” He is certain of one thing: “The introduction of the BWB won’t fail just because people are reluctant to paint new lines on the apron.”

BWB as a tanker aircraft – a niche market

It’s quite possible that the BWB will start out not carrying passengers at all until the many hurdles it faces in everyday operations have been overcome. “The U.S. Air Force has repeatedly expressed an interest in having a tanker aircraft with a reduced radar signature. An appropriately designed BWB is better placed to achieve this than conventional configurations,” Zeumer says. “That would be a potentially lucrative niche market that JetZero could serve.” The Pathfinder concept is flexible enough to be used in the military sector, too, with conventional engines and 100 percent sustainable fuel.

“There’s a good chance we’ll see a BWB tanker aircraft take to the skies in the future. Then only the cockpit would need to be pressurized, which would be much easier than pressurizing the entire passenger cabin. To achieve the desired stealth effect, the engines could be integrated into the airframe to a greater extent than is currently the case with JetZero,” Zeumer says, adding: “In commercial aviation, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Today’s aircraft are the result of over a century of technical evolution and have very balanced characteristics. But that’s not to say things will stay that way forever: “Changing requirements and new technologies can encourage new configurations.”