Page 18 - AAA NOV / DEC 2024 Digital Magazine | GBP

and up to 250 passengers. The
all-composite aircraft has a wide
single deck and high-aspect-ratio
wing. Although this extends the
wingspan to close to 200 ft.(61m),
similar to an Airbus A330 used by
Qantas, the body length is shorter
than a Boeing 767. Despite the
overall size, JetZero says the mid-
market aircraft will be about half
the weight and require half the
power of aircraft it replaces, such
as the 767.
From a passenger perspective the
Z-5 will have four aisles with seats
set as doubles. Each modular
zone will be in a 2-2 configuration
with abundant overhead storage
space. O’Leary says the config-
uration options are endless and
offer airlines and entirely new pas- reduces the demand for high take- opment project.
senger pleasing palette. “Boarding
will be a dream.”
Aimed at entry into service in the
2030s, the reduced weight and
power requirements are designed
to enable the Z-5 to use deriv-
atives of existing single-aisle
engines such as the CFM Leap 1
or Pratt & Whitney PW1100G. The
aircraft is equipped with mostly
conventional systems, simplifying
development and reducing cost
and risk.
The plan is founded on several
design breakthroughs which differ- a flattened fuselage shape. While
entiate JetZero’s proposed BWB
from many previous blended wing
concepts. One of these is a piv-
oting nose gear which increases
body angle for take-off – thereby
solving many of the pitch control
and rotation challenges that ham-
pered earlier designs.
For the take-off, the nose gear
extends by several feet to
increase the angle of attack by
about 6 deg., allowing the BWB’s
body to produce lift to amplify the
effect of the aircraft’s elevons. The
design enables the Z-5 to reach
18 | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2024
pitch attitude faster which in turn O’Leary says private investors will
allows liftoff speed to be lower and also contribute funds to the devel-
off thrust. And another bonus is
that it eliminates the requirement JetZero co-founder and chief tech-
for leading-edge high-lift slats nology officer Mark Page is part of
and reduces the size of the trail- a team that includes Bob Liebeck
ing-edge flaps. and Blaine Rawdon who invented
the concept.
Countering another design
challenge levelled at BWBs The Z-5 tanker also fits into the
concerning the inefficiencies USAF’s push to have stealthy air-
of pressurizing a noncircular craft to penetrate enemy airspace.
cabin cross-section, JetZero Summing up Barry Eccleston,
says advances in composites former Airbus Americas and
for primary structures, added to International Aero Engines CEO
the single-deck configuration of
the Z-5, eliminate the problem of and a member of JetZero’s advi-
constructing pressure vessels in sory board told Aviation Week’s
Guy Norris last year: “You have
the initial design is based around all these tailwinds from the
conventional tanks for sustainable environment, the Air Force and
aviation fuel, the company says NASA, plus you have the tech-
the BWB configuration provides nology tailwind, which makes
ample internal volume for liq- it viable when it wasn’t before.
uid-hydrogen fuel tanks in the Then you set that against the
future. fact that Boeing and Airbus
are doing nothing new in this
JetZero is aiming for first flight in space and you say, ‘We can’t
2027. sit here and do nothing.’ The
industry deserves it, and the
NASA and Boeing flew an 8.5%- industry needs it. If you’ve
scale BWB demonstrator in 2007, got something you know will
known as the X-48B but Boeing, be 30-50% better than today’s
incredibly, has walked away from products, why would you not
the concept.
do it?”. 
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