X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft model. The X-48B Blended Wing Body concept demonstrator is mounted for testing in a subsonic tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center, Virginia, USA. The X-48B prototype, a cross between a conventional plane and a flying wing design, was created based on a need for a multi-role, long-range and high- capacity military transport aircraft. Boeing Phantom Works partnered with NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory to study the structural, aerodynamic and operational advantages of this advanced aircraft concept. Photo taken February 1998.