NASA X-48C

This is an X-48C, a prototype of a hybrid wing body airplane currently located at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. The goal of a plane like this -- which is an 8.5 percent scale version of an eventual full-sized plane -- is to show the the genre of plane has potential. NASA and its corporate partners, Boeing, and Cranfield Aerospace, have already conducted 92 test flights with the X-48C's predecessor, the X-48B.

The team has yet to fly the X-48C, and the expect it may be 10 years or more before the full-sized version flies.

Hybrid wing body airplanes are hoped to offer a wide range of utility, from being bombers, tankers, cargo transporters, command and control planes, or commercial airliners. Some think that since the design can't support windows, paying passengers won't fly on them. But seem think the solution is to build in virtual windows.