It’s too early to tell if Boeing’s X-plane demonstrator with the Transonic Truss-Based Wing (TTBW) will be the next Boeing single-aisle airliner, but it certainly has the ingredients for that. There are some challenges that need to be solved first before a decision on the concept can be made, David Calhoun indicated during Wednesday’s FY22 earnings call. Boeing’s X-plane demonstrator could very well become its next jet.
NASA announced a week ago that it had granted Boeing $425 million in funding to develop and build a TTBW demonstrator in 2028 under the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) program. The airframer and partners will contribute another $725 million in funding.
Active as a journalist since 1987, with a background in newspapers, magazines, and a regional news station, Richard has been covering commercial aviation on a freelance basis since late 2016.
Richard is contributing to AirInsight since December 2018. He also writes for Airliner World, Aviation News, Piloot & Vliegtuig, and Luchtvaartnieuws Magazine. Twitter: @rschuur_aero.