FLYING A LONGRANGE SUPER JET

Is the JetZero blended-wing aircraft the future of commercial flight?

- WORDS SCOTT DUTFIELD

The 'tube-and-wing' design of commercial planes has remained relatively unchanged for decades. As an efficient way to fly, it seems that aeronautical engineers have largely stuck with the idiom, 'if it's not broken, don't fix it'. However, a commercial aircraft makeover could well be on the horizon thanks to an American startup called JetZero. Founded in 2021, the company has designed a commercial passenger plane with a blended-wing-body (BWB) that integrates the wings into the main body of the aircraft. The benefit of fusing the fuselage is largely down to efficiency. According to JetZero, its blended-wing design allows the aircraft to burn 50 per cent less fuel than today's commercial p