Comac Ling bird

A few days before the inaugural flight of the first Chinese commercial airliner C919 , the aircraft manufacturer COMAC flying a prototype integrated fuselage - the "Lingque B" (雀 雀 B) - on a reduced scale.

The small demonstrator of 240 kg took off at 3:06 pm Beijing from the Jingmen Zhanghe Civil Airport in Hubei Province. The craft completed its entire flight in autonomous mode, without intervention of the ground.

This first flight means that COMAC officially starts the flight test phase for its future aircraft research.

It should be noted that the "Lingque B" is the largest scale demonstrator in China in the civilian field, with a wingspan exceeding six meters. Its BWB (Blended Wing Body) configuration, in theory, offers better aerodynamic performance compared to the traditional TAW (Tube and Wings) configuration, thanks to the total integration of the central body with the wing , Which considerably reduces the drag, and consequently the fuel consumption and the landing and take-off distances of the aircraft.

This COMAC integrated fuselage prototype is made largely of composite, part of its cell and the landing gear in 3D printing.

Its designers, a team of young engineers from the Dream Studio (工作室 工作室), COMAC Civil Aviation Research Center in Beijing, are hoping to examine the low-speed aerodynamic properties, maneuverability and stability of the configuration at Fuselage, to study the associated flight control.

The "Lingque B" will now proceed to three types of flight tests to successively validate the platform, the performances and the payloads. The China Flight Test Establishment (CFTE), Beihang University and five other Chinese entities also participated in this development program thanks to an Open Lab collaboration model.

To be continued.

Henri K.

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