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Engineers have installed a
small-scale blended wing body prototype in an historic wind tunnel that
once hosted some of America's greatest aviation pioneers, including
Orville Wright, Howard Hughes, and Charles Lindbergh. Designated the
X-48B by the U.S. Air Force, the prototype was developed by Boeing
Phantom Works. It is being tested in the Langley Full-Scale Tunnel at
NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The 21-foot
wingspan aircraft is an 8.5 percent scale version of a blended wing body
concept. The Air Force is interested in the fuel-efficient design's
potential as a multi-role, long-range, high-capacity military aircraft.
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