Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Scholz, MSME, FRAeS, HAW Hamburg:

New Blended Wing Body (BWB) Aircraft – Is 50% Fuel Reduction a Credible Claim

Date and Time: Thursday, 15.01.2026, 18:00
Location: HAW Hamburg, Berliner Tor 5 (Neubau), Hörsaal 01.11

Poster: purl.org
Organization: HAW Hamburg (Dieter Scholz)

Registration (voluntary): www.eventbrite.de

Language: English
Lecture Notes: yes
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Startup companies are convinced the Blended Wing Body (BWB) configuration will revolutionize flight and will use "up to 50% less fuel than today’s commercial jets" (www.jetzero.aero ). The US-based companies are JetZero and Natilus. In December 2025, Outbound Aerospace had to shut down, running out of funding. In contrast: "Substantial fuel reduction cannot be expected for passenger aircraft" is the research result from a former HAW Hamburg project featuring a flying BWB demonstrator called AC20230 with a span of 3 m. The presentation will guide the audience through the aeronautical disciplines and show with real numbers and a few equations what to expect beyond unfounded promises and artist's impressions. However, a viable application could be a BWB tanker. Large parts of such an aircraft could remain unpressurized, and like the Northrop B2 bomber, the BWB offers low-observable (stealth) characteristics. Even more important: The U.S. Air Force needs a tanker replacement and has funds available. In 2023, the U.S. Air Force awarded a $235-million contract to JetZero to build a full-scale demonstrator by 2027 in partnership with Scaled Composites (Northrop Grumman).

Image description: Rendering of the JetZero BWB, which could be the next generation US tanker.

Beginn der Veranstaltung: 18:00 Uhr

Quelle: purl.org