JetZero
Blended wing aircraft could slash carbon emissions. This rendering shows a design by California-based JetZero, which aims to have a plane in service by 2030. Scroll through the gallery to see more.
USAF/Getty Images North America/Getty Images
The blended wing is an entirely new aircraft shape, with similarities to the "flying wing" design used by the B-2 bomber, pictured.
NASA
NASA's experimental X-48 plane featured a blended wing design and carried out around 120 test flights between 2007 and 2012. NASA said that an aircraft of this type would "generate less noise and emissions ... than an equally advanced conventional transport aircraft."
Airbus
Airbus has also explored a blended wing concept in its ZEROe program, unveiled in 2020.
Courtesy Airbus
ZEROe plans for three hydrogen-powered, zero-emission aircraft, which can carry 100 to 200 passengers. This rendering shows the blended wing design on the right.
Skydweller Aero Inc.
The blended wing is just one of a new generation of greener aircraft being explored by the aviation industry. Among the most innovative is the solar-powered Skydweller, which is based on Solar Impulse 2, an aircraft that has achieved numerous flight records, including circumnavigating the Earth without using a drop of fuel. Skydweller is pictured landing after its first flight, in December 2020.
ZeroAvia
On September 24 2020, ZeroAvia flew the world's largest hydrogen-powered aircraft at Cranfield Airport in England, showing the possibilities of hydrogen fuel for aviation.
Eviation Aircraft
While some are exploring hydrogen power, others are testing electric planes. Washington State-based Eviation Aircraft is behind the nine-passenger all-electric Alice aircraft, which produces no carbon emissions.
Eviation Aircraft
The aircraft, shown here as a rendering, has a range of 440 miles and is intended for feeder routes. It also comes in a cargo version; DHL Express has ordered 12 slated for service in 2024.
Courtesy Crystal Cabin Award
Alice's innovative interior won the "Cabin Concepts" category at the Crystal Cabin Award 2020.
Don MacKinnon/AFP/Getty Images
In December 2019, Vancouver-based seaplane company Harbour Air made history with the first all-electric commercial aircraft flight. The de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver seaplane, which was first flown in 1947, was retrofitted with a 750 horsepower magni500 electric engine from magniX.
magniX
MagniX made headlines again in June 2020 when AeroTEC's nine-seater eCaravan -- powered by the magni500 electric propulsion system -- became the largest all-electric commercial aircraft to fly.
Airbus
On March 25 2022, an Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial passenger airliner, completed a test flight powered entirely by SAF -- sustainable aviation fuel -- composed mainly of cooking oil.
Faradair Aerospace
While energy sources are still evolving, UK-based Faradair Aerospace is developing a design to squeeze the maximum efficiency out of whichever fuel prevails.
Faradair Aerospace
Faradair's 18-passenger BEHA aircraft, made from lightweight composite and shown here in a rendering, can carry a five-ton payload and has a 1,150-mile range.
CNN  — 

The basic design of commercial airplanes hasn’t changed much in the past 60 years. Modern airliners like the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 have the same general shape as the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8, which were built in the late 1950s and solidified the “tube and wing” form factor that is still in use today.

This is because commercial aviation prioritizes safety, favoring tried-and-tested solutions, and because other developments — in materials and engines, for example — mean the traditional design is still relevant.

However, a seismic shake-up is about to take place. An entirely new aircraft shape has been cleared to take off into California skies. At the end of last month, Long Beach-based JetZero announced that Pathfinder, its 1:8 scale “blended wing body” demonstrator plane, has been granted an FAA Airworthiness certificate and test flights are imminent.

As the industry desperately looks for ways to reduce carbon emissions, it faces a somewhat tougher challenge than other sectors precisely because its core technologies have proven so hard to move away from. It’s a ripe time to innovate.

The “blended wing body” looks similar to the “flying wing” design used by military aircraft such as the iconic B-2 bomber, but the blended wing has more volume in the middle section. Both Boeing and Airbus are tinkering with the idea, and JetZero’s new milestone brings it a little closer to its ambitious goal of putting into service a blended wing aircraft as soon as 2030.

“We feel very strongly about a path to zero emissions in big jets, and the blended wing airframe can deliver 50% lower fuel burn and emissions,” Tom O’Leary, co-founder and CEO of JetZero, told CNN in August 2023. “That is a staggering leap forward in comparison to what the industry is used to.”

JetZero
A rendering of JetZero's blended wing design.

Under pressure

The blended wing concept is far from new, and the earliest attempts at building airplanes with this design date back to the late 1920s in Germany. American aircraft designer and industrialist Jack Northrop created a jet-powered flying wing design in 1947, which inspired the B-2 in the 1990s.

As a sort of hybrid between a flying wing and a traditional “tube and wing,” the blended wing allows the entire aircraft to generate lift, minimizing drag. NASA says that this shape “helps to increase fuel economy and creates larger payload (cargo or passenger) areas in the center body portion of the aircraft.” The agency has tested it through one of its experimental planes, the X-48.

Over about 120 test flights between 2007 and 2012, two unmanned, remote-controlled X-48s demonstrated the viability of the concept. “An aircraft of this type would have a wingspan slightly greater than a Boeing 747 and could operate from existing airport terminals,” the agency says, adding that the plane would also “weigh less, generate less noise and emissions, and cost less to operate than an equally advanced conventional transport aircraft.”

NASA
NASA's experimental X-48 plane.

In 2020, Airbus built a small-blended wing demonstrator, about six feet in length, signaling interest in pursuing a full-size aircraft in the future. But if the shape is so effective, why haven’t we yet moved to building planes based on it?

According to O’Leary, there is one main technical challenge holding manufacturers back. “It’s the pressurization of a non-cylindrical fuselage,” he says, pointing to the fact that a tube-shaped plane is better able to handle the constant expansion and contraction cycles that come with each flight.

“If you think about a ‘tube and wing,’ it separates the loads — you have the pressurization load on the tube, and the bending loads on the wings. But a blended wing essentially blends those together. Only now can we do that with composite materials that are both light and strong.”

Such a radically new shape would make the interior of the plane look and feel wildly different to today’s widebody aircraft. “It’s just a much, much wider fuselage,” O’Leary says. “Your typical single-aisle plane has three by three seats, but this is a sort of a shorter, wider tube. You get the same amount of people, but you might have 15 or 20 rows across the cabin, depending upon how each particular airline will configure it.

“This just gives them a whole new palette with which to lay it out. I think it’s going to be amazing to see what their interpretation of this much broader space will be.”

JetZero
JetZero hopes to have its plane in service by 2030.

Revolutionary potential

O’Leary says that the nearest equivalent in terms of size would be the Boeing 767 – a widebody, twin-engine plane introduced in the 1980s that typically carried around 210 passengers. It’s still produced as a cargo plane but was replaced by the Boeing 787 as a passenger aircraft. It also has a modern military variant, the KC-46, which the US Air Force uses for aerial refueling.

Similarly, JetZero wants to simultaneously develop three variants: a passenger plane with seating for 200-plus passengers, a cargo plane and a fuel tanker. The blended wing shape lends itself so well to the latter that last year the US Air Force awarded JetZero $235 million to develop a full-scale demonstrator and validate the performance of the blended wing concept.  The military version of the plane is scheduled to lead the way and perhaps support the development of the commercial models.

The newly FAA-approved Pathfinder, with its 23-foot wingspan, is a 12.5%-scale version of the full-scale demonstrator, which is expected to take flight by 2027. The plane is designed for 100% compatibility with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and to have the internal volume to accommodate zero-carbon emissions hydrogen.

However, building an entirely new airplane from scratch is an enormous task, and JetZero’s targets sound ambitious, given that the full process of certification for even a variant of an existing aircraft can take years. One advantage JetZero has in this area is that the plane will initially borrow engines from today’s narrowbody aircraft, like the Boeing 737 — although the plan is to eventually move to completely emission-free propulsion powered by hydrogen, which would require new engines that haven’t yet been developed.

JetZero hasn’t announced any orders for its plane, but O’Leary told CNN last year that airlines are interested. “We’re talking to all the major airlines globally already, because they’re excited to hear about the efficiency gains.”

It remains to be seen whether a 50% reduction in fuel use is actually possible. Both NASA and Airbus quoted a more modest 20% for their designs, while the US Air Force says a blended wing aircraft could “improve aerodynamic efficiency by at least 30% over current Air Force tanker and mobility aircraft.”

JetZero
What the full-size JetZero plane could look like.

“It’s important to note that while a blended wing body can reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency, the actual benefits depend on the specific design, configuration, and operational conditions,” says Bailey Miles, an aviation analyst at consulting firm AviationValues.

“Extensive aerodynamic testing and optimization are essential to fully realize the drag reduction potential of this innovative aircraft design. It would be hard to determine a specific percentage fuel reduction without the necessary tests,” he adds.

According to Miles, the blended wing design is a “revolutionary” idea that has potential, but it comes with a number of hurdles, specifically an increased aerodynamic complexity that can make design and testing tricky, a series of regulatory and certification challenges, and a shape that may not be suitable for existing airport infrastructure.

“The blended wing body aircraft holds immense promise as a game changer in the aviation industry, offering the potential for improved fuel efficiency, enhanced payload capacity, and innovative control systems. However, addressing the aerodynamic complexities, ensuring structural integrity, navigating regulatory hurdles, and adapting airport infrastructure are formidable challenges that must be overcome for it to become a reality,” he says, adding that these challenges, among others, make JetZero’s target of 2030 for entry into service “inconceivable.”

According to Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at consulting firm Aerodynamic Advisory, while not all of JetZero’s claims can be verified, “the idea of a blended wing body has been quite appealing for years, and it sounds like they’ve done some very interesting research. My colleagues and I regard it as quite promising.”

He is concerned that the firm is mostly “a design shop” at the moment, but he believes that the project may take off with the help of contractors. “There’s certainly room for somebody who actually wants to add value in this industry,” he says.