X-48 Research: All good things must come to an end

After nearly six years, a successful and productive joint NASA-Boeing X-48 Hybrid / Blended Wing Body flight test project at NASA Dryden concludes.

The X-48C Hybrid Wing Body research aircraft banks right over NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base during one of the sub-scale aircraft's final test flights on Feb. 28, 2013.

The Boeing – NASA X-48C Hybrid Wing Body aircraft flies over one of the runways laid out on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. during a test flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

Earth and sky meet in this close up of the X-48C Hybrid Wing Body aircraft as it flies over Edwards Air Force Base on Feb. 28, 2013. The long boom protruding from between the tails is part of the aircraft's parachute-deployment flight termination system.

A deep blue sky backdrops the NASA-Boeing X-48C Hybrid Wing Body aircraft as it flies over Edwards AFB on Feb. 28, 2013, during a test flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Calif.

Original Source