X-48
The X-48 was made in the late 2000s to test a new shape of plane that could be quieter and more environmentally friendly than existing designs. Over the course of its six years of testing, it was deemed a resounding success by those involved with the project. Shaped like a chevron (or a manta ray, for the more aquatically inclined) X-48 showed off a design called ‘hybrid wing body,’ in which the wings and the body of the plane are almost one and the same. In their testing, NASA found that the plane was able to fly with greater fuel efficiency and less noise than existing aircraft. While that doesn’t mean we’ll all be flying around in big metal manta rays, it could mean that future airplanes may have a slightly different shape than they have today.
