Aviation Week Cover Jan 27, 2014

Read the full article at Aviation Week.com.

Testing of this model at NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) was the flagship phase II demonstration of the NASA N+3 program, which was created to mature technologies for the next generation of extremely efficient transport aircraft. As a key member of the Boeing team, NextGen Aeronautics designed, fabricated, and supported testing of the aeroelastically scaled model. The 15% geometric scale model, comprised of aluminum spars and carbon composite skins, was developed to explore the unique aeroelastic behavior of the truss braced wing configuration. Outfitted with a dense array of accelerometers and strain gages, as well as high-bandwidth hydraulically driven actuators, the model was also capable of flutter suppression and gust load alleviation. Wind tunnel testing began in December 2013 and will continue into February 2014. The acquired data will be used to anchor the analytical design tools for future truss braced wing transport aircraft.