Article Posted on : - Sep 25, 2010

Boeing's X-48B Blended Wing Body technology demonstrator. A NASA photo.

WASHINGTON (BNS): After undergoing a major overhaul and upgrades, the Boeing, NASA X-48B Blended Wing Body research aircraft has resumed flight tests.

This new series of flight tests will focus on additional parameter identification investigations following installation and checkout of a new flight computer.

The parameter identification work will evaluate the new computer’s control of the aircraft’s flight control surfaces and the airplane's performance, NASA said.

A checkout flight test was carried out on Septenber 21, from Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

The remotely piloted airplane, also called a hybrid wing body, is a tool of NASA's new Environmentally Responsible Aviation, or ERA, project.

ERA aims to develop the technology needed to create quieter, cleaner, and more fuel-efficient airplanes for the future.

After completion of its first phase of flight testing, the airplane was disassembled for a complete inspection and refurbishment.

The team completed the 80th and last flight of the project's first phase on March 19, 2010, almost three years after the X-48B's first flight on July 20, 2007.