Aviation is considered to be one of the biggest polluters of the climate, but not much can be achieved with voluntary renunciation, despite all efforts. A probably better or additional approach is to reinvent the airplane, at least to a certain extent. And that is quite possible: Years ago, the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing developed a new wing shape jointly and at the suggestion of NASA, which is called Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW).
Long and slender wings
This is a strutted wing attached to the belly of the fuselage, allowing for longer and thinner wings that use significantly less fuel. The idea behind it: You can achieve higher lift and lower drag by using longer and slimmer wings with a higher aspect ratio. That’s why you need the braces (for stability), but they also act as an extra wing – making the truss-braced wing a sort of modern biplane.
It is not exactly clear how high the fuel savings could actually be. After the first wind tunnel tests a decade ago, Boeing thought that fuel consumption could even be halved, but it is now clear that this is not realistic.
The aircraft manufacturer is currently writing in a press release: “Combined with expected advances in propulsion systems, materials and systems architecture, a single aisle aircraft with TTBW configuration could reduce fuel burn and emissions by up to 30 percent compared to the current most efficient aircraft of its type.”
However, this is all still theory at the moment. To change that, Boeing will build a full-size, full-featured prototype aircraft. The manufacturer received funds from NASA in the amount of 425 million dollars to finance the project, Boeing itself, together with partners, is providing 725 million dollars.
the NASA writes that testing for the project is expected to be completed by the late 2020s, “so that the technologies and designs demonstrated within the project can serve as a basis for industry decisions about the next generation of single-aisle aircraft that will be used in could be put into service by the 2030s.”
So far, TTBW has only been tested in the wind tunnel
Several question marks
Of course, there are many open questions that need to be resolved, including the placement of the fuel that is currently in the wings, and also practical aspects at airports that are currently not designed for such long wings.
- Boeing is developing a new wing shape: TTBW (Transonic Truss-Braced Wing)
- Consumes about a third less fuel than conventional. airplanes
- $425M from NASA, $725M from Boeing for funding
- Tests until the end of the 2020s, introduction possibly in the 2030s
- Solutions sought for fuel placement.
- Achieves higher lift & lower drag
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