Bombardier Flies 18-Foot-Wide Prototype During 2nd Test Phase Of EcoJet Research Project

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During the second test phase of Bombardier’s EcoJet Research Project, team members are flying an 18-foot-wide test vehicle, which joins an 8-ft prototype that first flew in 2017. (Photo courtesy of Bombardier.)

Bombardier treated attendees of the recent National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) to exclusive images from the second test phase of its sustainability-focused EcoJet research and technology project. Launched 15 years ago, the project aims to cut aircraft emissions by up to 50% through advances in aerodynamics, propulsion, and more. The second test phase saw Bombardier conducting flight tests on an 18-foot (5.5-meter)-wide demonstrator aircraft, which first flew last year and can fly autonomously.

Paving The Way To Sustainability

The EcoJet project has resulted in a family of Blended Wing Body (BWB) test vehicles used in flight campaigns to explore how they behave in free flight. Project team members began testing the real-world feasibility of its theoretical work in 2017 on the first prototype vehicle, which has a roughly 8-ft (2.4-m) wingspan. Data gathered from tests on the 18-ft aircraft will advance engineers’ knowledge concerning new aviation control laws applied to BWB geometry, which Bombardier dubs “radically different.”

“Our engineers are eager to start working with the results yielded by this second phase of the flight test program,” says Stephen McCullough, Bombardier senior vice president of engineering and product development. “Building on the significant data drawn from the initial flight-testing phase, and now leveraging a model twice as large as the first prototype, we can further refine our analysis. With each additional experimental stage, we are paving the way for more sustainable aircraft designs and new technologies."

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Source: Bombardier