The company's new blended-wing plane prepares for its first test, carrying with it the airline's hopes for fuel-saving planes. Originally conceived by McDonnell Douglas and developed by NASA, the blended-wing merges fuselage and wings and eliminates the tail, reducing drag. That makes it vastly more fuel-efficient than regular "tube-and-wing" jets.
For now Boeing is focused on making a military version of the plane by 2022. But by 2030 blended-wing aircraft could be carrying commercial passengers. Last November a team from MIT and Cambridge University unveiled the SAX-40, a blended-wing design
that promises to be more fuel-efficient than a Toyota Prius - and thanks in part to the engine placement, just as quiet (at 63 decibels).
