Watch: Why Fast, Fuel-Efficient Flying Wing Aircrafts May Be the Future of Flying
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With the looks of an oversized boomerang, the Horten HX-2 flying wing may be coming your way soon. Never heard of a flying wing? “It’s a tail-less fixed-wing aircraft that has no fuselage,” says Horten Aircraft’s Silvio Hungsberg. They are swift and highly efficient, with a long range. Flying wings also provide a solid platform for new propulsion technologies, such as an electric drive or a hybrid drive with hydrogen or fuel-cell technology—right in line with private aviation’s vision of sustainability.
Minimal and compact, the flying machine’s roll-over-safe cabin features carbon-and-glass-fiber honeycomb construction and room for two. HX-2 test pilot Kai Schülter is enthusiastic about the craft’s small size—measuring 14.8 feet long with a 32.8-foot wingspan—and the simplicity of the controls. Schülter says that with the propeller behind the wing, it flies almost like a glider, only much faster.
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Having recently completed initial flight testing, the company is currently looking for investors for further development.
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