[port11]

Dumb question but if the all-wing design has major advantages (and basically no negatives?), why haven't we been pursuing this for a long time?

You’re telling me that just recently a random startup thought they’d work on it? It’s not exactly startup territory…

[ctippett]

The design has been in the works since at least the late 1980s which is when the B-2 stealth bomber was developed.

For an all-wing design to work the onboard flight control system needs to make thousands of microscopic surface adjustments every second to keep the flight stable. This is much more practical with today's computing power and technology, even if the concept may have been thought of long ago.

Mentour Now! has a great video discussing the aerodynamics of the B-2 which has a lot of relevancy to the JetZero design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLtzjP1_3nQ

[echelon]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_wing_body

No windows

Evacuation issues

Won't work in some airports

Nausea inducing

... It's not without issues.

[notahacker]

Yep. I'd say the way forward for testing is the freighter, which doesn't have evacuation issues, doesn't unload at passenger airbridges and (if packed properly) doesn't have the same sensitivity to rolling motions.

But freighters generally have lower utilization on less price-sensitive routes, so operators tend not to care so much about fuel economy (and for related reasons, usually aren't new aircraft). So however much easier the route to certification might be, it's a horrible market...