Northrop's airliner/freighter of the future

Northrop Grumman has revealed intriguing details about the flying wing airliner and freighter versions for NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) program.  

ERA’s Advanced Vehicle Study goal is to identify an aircraft configuration which could make future transport aircraft cleaner, quieter and more efficient. 

Passengers load up a ramp into the aft of the flying wing – which if you look carefully in this rendition is actually the cargo version. The passenger version center section is significantly wider than the cargo variant to maximize cabin volume and, including engine compartments, measures more than 79 ft across compared to 60 ft for the freighter. 

A military airlifter variant – which presumably could be adapted B-2A style for improved stealth – has a payload of 100,000lb and capacity for 12 full-size and two half-size cargo containers. Span is 260 ft and leading edge sweep is 40 degrees. 

Of course it is not the first time Northrop has looked at flying wing airliners (see picture above). In the 1940s the company’s publicity department came out with images (and even a movie) of what it hoped could be a vision of the future. The heritage of the YB-49 bomber, which never entered production, is as clear to see here as the B-2 heritage of the present day ERA concept.
(all artwork Northrop Grumman)
via AviationWeek

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