Approach

  • Investigate the potential emissions reduction of long-range air traffic offered by promising blended wing body aircraft and by hydrogen powered tube-and-wing aircraft, with novel propulsion concepts.
  • Pre-design and evaluate novel flying testbeds that are needed for de-risking the development of these disruptive future long range aircraft configurations and associated enabling technologies.
  • Define roadmaps, but also operational and business plans, for a European flying testbed programme and the use of these testbeds in the development of the future long range aircraft.

Flight test needs

  • Flight dynamics and control

  • Structural dynamics and aeroelasticity

  • Unconventional propulsion integration

Family concept

  • Different FTBs to cover all flight test needs

  • Common strategy with optimal use of scaling, modularity, reconfigurability, re-use of designs and components

Flying testbed families (TRL4)

  • Long range blended wing body family

  • Long range hydrogen powered tube-and-wing family

  • Long range propulsion family

Advanced measurement techniques

  • Ground-based noise and aerodynamic flow measurements

  • Optical measurements for aerodynamics and aeroelasticity, and

  • Dynamic unsteady/critical flight condition testing

Small-scale demonstrations

  • In flight

  • In wind tunnel

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