Five Alive

A number and accuracy. A letter to the Vancouver Sun, not published:

Barbara Yaffe, in her column "Two factors mean the end of air travel as we know it" (April 17), refers to "a new type of passenger aircraft, designed for fuel efficiency -- one that's bat-shaped, resembling a B-52 bomber..."

I'm afraid Ms Yaffe has confused the 50-year old B-52 Stratofortress, which is a conventional design with a fuselage, wings and vertical tail, with the US Air Force's latest bomber, the B-2 Spirit. The B-2 is a so-called "flying wing", without a separate fuselage and wings, and without a vertical tail; it indeed might be called "bat-shaped".

What a difference a "5" makes. What some people in fact are considering for future airliners is what is described as a "blended wing" design. This is one in which, as with the B-2, the fuselage and wings are not distinct structures; instead there is a large and wide central structure that seamlessly blends into the wings.

The problem with this design, from the passengers' standpoint, is that most of them in the wide, central cabin--the "20-seat rows" that Ms Yaffe mentions--are far away from any windows and may feel uncomfortable flying without an easy view outside the aircraft.

References:
http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=83
http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=82
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/b/b797.htm
http://www.twitt.org/bldwing.htm

Mark C.

Posted by markc at April 21, 2008 07:33 AM