V-Shaped Ride-in-the-Wings Jetliner Successfully Took Off (2020)

The jetliner proved to be a “22.5 kg and 3-meter wide-scale model” in the non-headline part of the article

An important goal of new airframe designs is ability to carry liquified hydrogen fuel. Although substantially less volume-dense than the diesel used today, LH2's superb energy density makes it appealing enough to justify upending the entire tech stack. In short, when the fuel for your flight weighs 80% less, you get to carry that much more payload, instead. But, the LH2 tanks are too big to fit in traditional airframes' wings, where the diesel tanks are.

The prospect of producing LH2 on demand at airports from very cheap solar- and wind-generated power, and of no longer injecting CO2 into the stratosphere where it arguably does the most harm, adds to the appeal. Just transporting and storing the fuel needed for aircraft operations is a big expense; power lines deliver energy much more cheaply. Negotiating a stable price, usually above average, for variably-priced diesel is another expense airlines would be glad to abandon.

Producing your LH2 mainly when power is cheapest reduces costs more, and also helps to match load to supply, which grids will pay for. Excess LH2 storage enables driving power back into the grid at times when price is highest, further leveling load and offsetting net costs.

LH2 fuel can be burned in regular turbines, but can also be catalytically converted directly to electrical power to drive electric turbines, which promises more efficiency gains. Lighter-weight electric turbines again enable more payload.

But getting airports fitted for LH2 production will happen slowly, first at the biggest ports, and gradually at smaller ones. So, LH2-fueled transport will happen first on long-haul inter- and transcontinental routes, and on certain very-high traffic domestic routes, where the capital investment for all-new LH2 production and all-new airframes pays off fastest.

Video of the flight of the model is more interesting: https://youtu.be/XHFcLfSfJWQ

The Real Engineering YouTube channel has an excellent video on flying wings / blended-wing aircraft, their potential future role in passenger and cargo air travel, and issues with the designs.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=59A8-rKRs-0

As with much of the channel's work, excellent information, and even on topics I'm fairly well-informed on, I learn much.

Everyone knows that flying wings can be more fuel efficient. The problem is that putting passengers out further from the roll axis makes them airsick during turns. Cargo might be a better application.

I wonder what turbulence in the back rows feels like

It's called a flying wing, pretty old design actually. They've been talking about passenger planes with this design for a while. This particular one was just a model though, nothing too ground breaking to see here.

"(2020)"

That's a lot of middle seats.

That looks very futuristic, but also seems like it would have much higher surface area—perhaps not ideal for airlines' bottom lines.