Funky Flying Wing Rotates 90 Degrees To Go Supersonic 122
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."
Let me sell you a wakeless boat (Score:0, Interesting)
I have this boat that rotates 90 degrees when it gets going faster and therefore doesn't generate any wake. It's ecologically friendly and gets great gas mileage.
That is in essence is what this guy is pitching - a plane that doesn't generate a supersonic wake despite the fact it's moving supersonically. Perhaps if the story had some details as to why rotation made any difference other than switching aspect ratios, it might be a bit more believable.
Re:$100,000 for Aerospace research? (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Well, a lot of the B-2's volume seems to be taken by the engines, which in this design are sticking out the top on rotating poles (which presents major design issues by itself). So that's a lot more volume to stick people inside. Moreover, the thing has the point sticking out backwards as well, whereas the B-2 doesn't. So that adds a lot of interior volume. Also remember that this won't have to be stealth, so that frees up a lot of design decisions.
Boeing has been trying for years to make a flying-wing version of the C-130, so obviously this guy isn't the only one thinking of using a flying wing as a cargo carrier.
Re:$100,000 for Aerospace research? (Score:5, Interesting)
actually if you read through the presentation that is the second link
http://www6.miami.edu/acfdlab/projects/AIAA2010-1013_slides_pdf.pdf [miami.edu]
They have done a bit of modeling already, and it is showing promises. I'd call it a bit more than just a sketch, by bet is that with the funds they could do scale wind tunnel and fluid tests, which is listed as their next steps.
Problems with sonic booms? (Score:4, Interesting)
Must have been a PhD in grant writing (Score:5, Interesting)
The article is nearly useless. Even bringing up scramjet testing in such an article is ridiculous namedropping, and anyone who has actually seen the X51 knows that is has nothing to do with this project except that neither will be flying in this planet in the current state of development.
There are so many questionable things about this concept, I can only assume that Mr. Zha has a second degree in grant writing or bullshittery to get and actual grant for research. And yet the linked presentation is, aside from some math simulation output data, poorer in content than at least half of the undergraduate senior projects in my Aero class back in the early 90s. One of the conclusions is "transition challenging, expected to be stable due to dual symmetric planform similar to flying Frisbee". Holy shit - that may very well be one of the most critical parts of the design. If you can't transition, you simply have a plane with the entire thrust force on a gimbal which can either be subsonic or supersonic. They other issue is the horrifically draggy airfoil shape required for subsonic flight due to the need to maintain symmetry in the supersonic mode. Their solution is either air injection into the flow and/or or slat deployment at speed to produce a proper lifting body - but that's an amazingly draggy way to accomplish such feat.
I wanted to like this - so much that I did read through the broken-english slides to see what novel concepts they discovered. Sadly, this is really a master's level, one or two semester examination of shock wave perceptibly reduction, and at some point somebody's non-technical room mate told them it looked more like an airplane if they flew it sideways.