Funky Flying Wing Rotates 90 Degrees To Go Supersonic

Big Hairy Ian writes "An aircraft that resembles a four-point ninja star could go into supersonic mode by simply turning 90 degrees in midair. The unusual 'flying wing' concept has won $100,000 in NASA funding to trying becoming a reality for future passenger jet travel. The supersonic, bidirectional flying wing idea comes from a team headed by Ge-Chen Zha, an aerospace engineer at Florida State University. He said the fuel-efficient aircraft could reach supersonic speeds without the thunderclap sound (PDF) produced by a sonic boom — a major factor that previously limited where the supersonic Concorde passenger jet could fly over populated land masses."

Re:Seriously?

[Antipater]

I could RTFA fine. Dunno what poll you're talking about.

Better Link

[MyLongNickName]

Here is one that doesn't make you answer a lame question:

http://www.livescience.com/22828-supersonic-flying-wing-nasa.html [livescience.com]

It would be one thing if the "innovationwhatever.com" site wrote the article. They didn't. Yet they feel the need to try to profit of it. Utter douchebags.

$100,000 for Aerospace research?

[Revotron]

That'll get them one workstation, one software license of their choice, and a PhD student for a year, tops.

Also, wouldn't a flying-wing aircraft designed for passenger travel be incredibly inefficient in terms of space usage? Look at the B2 - most of its body is the wing and engine structure and a tiny cockpit for 2 crew members, plus a bomb bay. Imagine trying to scale up the B2 to fit 100+ people - it'd be gargantuan. It could handle the weight just fine (the B2 carries 50,000lbs of ordinance already), but to fit that many people comfortably would be quite a feat. IANA aerospace engineer so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Re:Better Link

[MyLongNickName]

I retract the part about the site not writing the article. Apparently they did. I still find it annoying, however. I may go back and answer their poll as I like to encourage science writing...

Re:Seriously?

[Anonymous Coward]

Adblock Plus

Didn't see a poll.

Re:Rotation

[CanHasDIY]

I know this is asking entirely too much, for which I apologize, but it really helps if you RTFA:

Jet engines located on top of the aircraft in concept illustrations appear to rotate independently of the aircraft so that they can always point forward in flight.

Re:Seriously?

[Galestar]

So margin of error for this study = +/- 100%

IAAAE

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the most challenging part about this aircraft is vehicle dynamics. For stable flight the center of mass needs to be forward of the 1/4 chord section of the subsonic wing, and for supersonic flight it should be forward of the 1/2 chord section of the supersonic wing. That alone means this is plane is inherently unstable and flies like a leaf from a tree without software compensation. This doesn't begin to address the transition from subsonic to supersonic, where at some point you must have flow at 45 degrees over both supersonic and subsonic surfaces, stably; the plane would have a tendency to pitch and roll under this maneuver.

I am an aerospace engineer..