Potential Effects of Blended Wing Bodies on the Air Transportation System

Flying wings in various layouts (blended wing body, C-wing, tail-less aircraft, etc.) are among the most promising concepts in the foreseeable scenario of air traffic increase and very demanding noise and emission regulations. Published literature shows that these aircraft will exhibit considerable gains in field length and cruise performance with respect to conventional airplanes and could be less harmful in terms of emissions and noise. The objective of this study is to present the beneficial effects that blended wing bodies would have on the air transportation system: specifically, on four relevant aspects of airport capacity, community noise, air space capacity, and emissions.