Is it a commercial plane? Is this a better design in any way than regular engines on the wings?
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1$\begingroup$ This looks fake. $\endgroup$– Devil07Jul 29, 2017 at 16:46
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3$\begingroup$ It's an Adobe Photoshop Trijet. Was manufactured in Soviet Russia in total secret. $\endgroup$– Eric UrbanJul 29, 2017 at 16:50
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9$\begingroup$ If it would be real, with that main gear so forward, I would expect it to tailstrike on every landing. $\endgroup$– FedericoJul 29, 2017 at 16:59
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1$\begingroup$ Thunderbirds are Go! $\endgroup$– GdDJul 29, 2017 at 18:40
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3$\begingroup$ With those flaps it is totally unstable in pitch. The tiny elevons could not compensate, even with a super-responsive FCS. $\endgroup$– Peter KämpfJul 30, 2017 at 11:50
2 Answers
It is a blended body design. It is a hoax. See similar photo from Popular Science magazine 2003 on wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_wing_body
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37713174
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1$\begingroup$ it's not so much a hoax as a concept under study at the time that led nowhere. $\endgroup$– jwentingJul 31, 2017 at 6:41
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$\begingroup$ The photograph depicting it as a commercial airliner is a hoax. The aircraft design, is not a hoax. But the question was regarding a "trijet airliner." $\endgroup$– Devil07Jul 31, 2017 at 13:14
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$\begingroup$ Boeing released some concept art showing what the concept would look like as an airliners. I'm not sure if the photograph you show is a hoax or one of those images. $\endgroup$– jwentingAug 1, 2017 at 5:50
Though the aircraft is not real, it is apparently based on the Boeing X-48B Blended wing body experimental vehicle.
Potential benefits of the aircraft include increased volume for carrying capacity, efficient aerodynamics for reduced fuel burn and possibly significant reductions in noise due to propulsion integration options..