The time of appearance of futuristic passenger planes has been named: created on the model of a stealth bomber

A futuristic jet with a “blended wing body” could soon replace Boeing’s troubled fleet when it begins flying in 2030, reports the Daily Mail.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently gave the go-ahead for test flights of the Pathfinder, which seats 250 passengers in a plane modeled after the United States Air Force’s B-2 stealth bomber.

The plane’s range on a single tank of fuel is expected to be 5,754 miles, compared to typical commercial airlines that fly up to 4,000 miles.

As the Daily Mail notes, JetZero aims to become the “SpaceX of aviation” by cutting fuel consumption and emissions by 50 percent compared to other airlines.

Most U.S. airlines use Boeing jets to provide planes to travelers, but the planemaker has faced many challenges over the past year that have Americans looking for alternatives—and that’s where the Pathfinder could come in handy.

The FAA certification received by JetZero confirms that plans are safe enough to proceed with building a full-size model of the Pathfinder and begin test flights of the aircraft.

The other day, the Daily Mail notes, the company announced the achievement, noting that this is a prototype that can now begin experimental flights.

“We are pleased to announce that Pathfinder, our 23-foot version of the full-size demonstrator with a 12.5% ​​wingspan, is now certified airworthy by the FAA,” JetZero shared on LinkedIn.

The achievement was made possible by a $235 million investment from the U.S. Air Force last year to help JetZero build the Pathfinder passenger jet by 2027.

Even though the current prototype is much smaller, the final version will likely look identical – with a futuristic-looking composite wing body (BWB).

BWB, a favorite among the US military, means there is no clear dividing line between the wings and the main body of the aircraft, explains the Daily Mail. The US Air Force adopted this design for its aerodynamic capabilities.

But unlike the B-2 bomber, the Pathfinder has a larger body and can reach higher altitudes with less fuel. JetZero also lengthened commercial jet wings and removed the tail fins of standard aircraft to create a lighter aircraft and reduce drag.

“If you think about ‘tube and wing,’ you’re splitting the loads—the tube has pressure and the wings have bending loads,” Tom O’Leary, co-founder and CEO of JetZero, told CNN last year. “Essentially, it combines them together. Only now we can do this with lightweight, strong composite materials.”

Instead of bolted metal, the BWB uses cross-linked carbon fiber, a lighter material stitched together to create the wings. This material is less expensive than the metal alternative, which reduces the cost of manufacturing and servicing the DWW.

“We call it the SpaceX of aviation,” Tony Fadell, an investor and strategic advisor at JetZero, told Fast Company.

JetZero’s founders spent more than three decades honing the Pathfinder prototype before deeming it good enough to submit for FAA approval.

JetZero’s claimed reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is 50 percent higher than NASA and Airbus’s claimed 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption.

The company compared its plane’s seating to today’s standard wide-body planes, which typically have three-by-three seating, but the JetZero plane’s innovative shape means it can still seat the same number of people without sacrificing legroom.

O’Leary told CNN that because the plane has a shorter, wider tube, “the number of passengers remains the same, but the cabin could be 15 or 20 rows, depending on how each particular airline sets it up.” .

That’s in stark contrast to domestic carriers including American, Delta and United, which have shrunk legroom by two to four inches since the 1980s to increase cabin capacity.

“The shape gives airlines more choice,” O’Leary told Fast Company. “The airline industry has become a race to the bottom in terms of comfort. But if you can reduce fuel consumption, you can use the savings to create a more comfortable cabin and more roomy seats without any significant economic losses.”

The company also intends to develop three types of aircraft: a passenger aircraft with a capacity of more than 200 people, a cargo aircraft and a military tanker.

Tom O’Leary and technical director Mark Page have been working on improving the aircraft since 1992, and it comes at a crucial time when global warming has increased sharply and aviation accounts for 2.5 percent of global emissions and is projected to rise. by 4.3 percent per year.

“I have dedicated more than 30 years of my life to perfecting the design of the mixed-material wing,” Page told Fast Company. “We are now entering an era that requires massive emissions reductions. When we see the first BWB airliner take off, our entire team will feel that It really made a difference.”