DOCSLIB.ORG

39Th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting & Exhibit

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
39Th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting & Exhibit m l AIAA 2001-0311 Flying Wings / Flying Fuselages Richard M. Wood and Steven X. S. Bauer NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, Virginia 39th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting & Exhibit 8-11 January 2001 / Reno, NV For permission to copy or republish, contact the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500, Reston, VA 20191-4344 AIAA 2001-0311 Flying Wings / Flying Fuselages Richard M. W_x)d and Steven X. S. Bauer: ABSTRACT The present cultural environment is slightl)improved but the public perception and politics continue to The present paper has documented the historical haunt this concept today relationships between various classes of all lifting vehicles, which includes the flying wing, all wing, tailless, lifting body, and lifting fuselage. The diversity in vehicle focus was to ensure that all A review of the most recent aircraft design studies vehicle types that ma) have contributed to or been shows a significant number of flying wing concepts influenced by the development of the classical fl)ing are under consideration, especiall_ for militar 5 wing concept was investigated. applications. It is clear that the realization of the flying wing concept is benefiting from recent "['he paper has provided context and perspective for technological advances in aerodynamics, floxs present and future aircraft design studies that may control, flight control s3stems, materials, structures, emplo_ the all lifting vehicle concept. The paper also and propulsions s_stems. It also appears that the demonstrated the benefit of developing an cultural barriers of the past are also deteriorating understanding of the past in order to obtain the allowing for the rich body of flying wing research to required knowledge to create future concepts with be shared and studied and thus, contribute to future significantl2_ improved aerodynamic performance. vehicle development activities. However, a review of the ongoing research indicates that we continue to re-create the past instead of INTRODUCTION learning from the past to create the future _5_. These sentiments are clearl 3 stated through the ff)llowing Even after more than a century of research and quotes from A. R. Weyl, 1944. -_-_-"-_ development the flying wing is still viewed as a unique and unconventional aircraft concept _4v. This "...Flying Wing, in which at the present period more realit3 is even more surprising when you consider the interest than ever is being displayed." significant aerodynamic and structural benefits afforded rising wing designs, compared to "...it seems a fact that experience collected in the past conventional designs. Historical revie_vs 5__'_5"_7 on with tailless aeroplanes is either unknown or this topic appear to point to a variety of reasons for forgotten or. at the least ill-judged..." the slow acceptance of flying wing type vehicles. From a technical point of view, the dominant issue "...it is by no means sufficient that a crazy design has been stability and control, which to this day flies: it must fly far better than eveo'thing else in continues to plague this class of vehicle. As a result, order to raise attention attlong those closed flying wing aircraft continue to be limited to missions circles..." comprised of only low lift (cruise) conditions. In addition to the technical issues, there were cultural The relevance of these three statements after nearly issues faced by this class of aircraft that consisted of six decades its quite remarkable. The_ point to the negative public perceptions and politics. In the first need for a thorough understanding of the design half of the 2() _h century, which was the most prolific trends, historical contributions, and technical period of flying wing development, these two issues relationships for fl3ing wing vehicles as well as other severely restricted technical discussions and as a closely related vehicle types before significant work result the opportunity to mature this concept was lost. is performed. With this understanding will come new Senior Research Aerodynamicist, Configuration Copyright ,_, 2001 by the American Institute of Aerod?namics Branch NASA Langley Research Aeronautics and Astronautics. Inc. No copyright is Center, Associate Fellow AIAA asserted in the United States under Title 17, U. S. Code. The U. S. Government has a royalty-free license to exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for government purposes. All other fights are reserved b? the copyright owner. American Institute of Aeronauhcs and Astronautics AIAA 2001-03 i I design knowledge and thus, new opportunities to Lifting Fuselage create new concepts that approach the optimum A thick aerodynamically shaped body with performance boundaries of powered flight. Failure to section lift characteristics equivalent to that develop this understanding will ensure that we will of a wing. once again re-create past accomplishments. Lifting Body In support of this issue the present paper is focused Aircraft that chiefly or solely generate lift by on documenting the historical relationships between their bodies. various classes of all lifting vehicles that includes the flying wing. The diversity in vehicle focus is to The discussion presented within the paper will use ensure that all vehicle types that may have the Flying Wing (FW) and Flying Fuselage (FF) contributed to or been influenced by the development terms as the primary ALV descriptors with All-Wing of the flying wing concept are investigated. By and Tailless being sub-elements of FW and Lifting investigating these relationships, it is expected that Fuselage and Lifting Body as sub-elements of FF. today's aircraft designers will have an improved understanding of the brilliant aircraft designs of the A goal of this paper is to provide context and past. perspective for present and expected future aircraft design studies that may employ the ALV concept. It The following definition of the All-Lifting-Vehicle is also hoped that this paper will demonstrate the (ALV) is offered: benefit of developing an understanding of the past in A vehicle that has all horizontal orientated order to obtain the required knowledge to create elements (i.e., wing, fuselage, tail. etc,.) are future concepts with significantly improved continuous and aerodynamically shaped to aerodynamic performance. contribute proportionally equivalent amounts of lift throughout the flight envelope. The discussion that follows will first review the ALV historical development in an effort to focus the reader This broad definition allows for the inclusion of all to the relationship between the various ALV types. existing definitions for flying wing, all-wing, tailless, The paper will then provide a more detailed and lifting body. Note, the above definition does not discussion of the history of the FW concept. The allow for a vehicle that has a fuselage that does not final sections of the paper will focus on the historical provide appropriate lift, a tail/canard that only development of ALV within the United States. functions as a trim/control surface, or a nacelle that only houses the propulsion system. The various ALV HISTORY names that make up the ALV category are as diverse as the concepts themselves and vary from flying wing ALV have been under continued development for to flying fuselage. Definitions of the six specific over a century with the majority of the earl3 work concepts to be investigated are listed below to assist (pre 1950) centered in Europe and thc post 1950 the reader. work being performed within the United States. This transfer in ALV leadership to the tlnited State,', Flying Wing H5.47.__ coincides with the transfer in the world economic and A tailless airplane accommodating all of its parts military leadership to the United States. Thi_ within the outline of a single airfoil. technical dominance by one country (United States) resulted in an increased conservatism in aircraft All-Wing design during the middle decades of the 20 _hcentur 3 Aircraft consisting of nothing but wing. Most of these aircraft, designed since the 1950s, ma) (Northrop's definition) be characterized as typical vehicles with wings tt, produce lift, fuselages to carry cargo/payload. Tailless tails/canards for control, and nacelles to house An aircraft consisting of a single wing, propulsion systems. Another change that drasticall3 without conventional fuselage or tail. influenced aircraft design within the United States, in the post 1950 era, was the growing interest, effort. Flying Fuselage 10.69-116 and resources expended toward space exploration An aircraft consisting of an aerodynamically These efforts led to the development of lifting body shaped fuselage that generates a majority of the aircraft for atmospheric reentry. However, recentl 3 total aircraft lift. there has been a new beginning in ALV design as 2 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AIAA 2001-0311 evident by the Blended Wing Body (BWB) 49-53 been performed in the llnited States and was initiated X43, and Pathfinder. within NASA in the 1950s. An initial assessment of the histor 3 of AIN identifies The final concept is the lifting fuselage, see figure 3. three primary categories as noted in figure 1. These The concept depicted is the Burnelli, UB-14, which categories are flying wing, lifting fuselage, and lifting at first glance would appear to be out of step _ith this body. The chart of figure 1 shows that the flying discussion. However, a review of the lifting fuselage wing category is the most populous with well over aircraft design objective and motivation shows a 125 aircraft whereas both the lifting fuselage and match with that for the flying wing concepts of the lifting bod 3 categories number well under 25 aircraft. same time period. These concepts were characterized The majority of both the flying wing and lifting by thick airfoil shaped fuselages that were designed fuselage aircraft were developed prior to 1950 to produce a significant portion of the required lift.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • AMA FPG-9 Glider OBJECTIVES – Students Will Learn About the Basics of How Flight Works by Creating a Simple Foam Glider
    AEX MARC_Layout 1 1/10/13 3:03 PM Page 18 activity two AMA FPG-9 Glider OBJECTIVES – Students will learn about the basics of how flight works by creating a simple foam glider. – Students will be introduced to concepts about air pressure, drag and how aircraft use control surfaces to climb, turn, and maintain stable flight. Activity Credit: Credit and permission to reprint – The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) and Mr. Jack Reynolds, a volunteer at the National Model Aviation Museum, has graciously given the Civil Air Patrol permission to reprint the FPG-9 model plan and instructions here. More activities and suggestions for classroom use of model aircraft can be found by contacting the Academy of Model Aeronautics Education Committee at their website, buildandfly.com. MATERIALS • FPG-9 pattern • 9” foam plate • Scissors • Clear tape • Ink pen • Penny 18 AEX MARC_Layout 1 1/10/13 3:03 PM Page 19 BACKGROUND Control surfaces on an airplane help determine the movement of the airplane. The FPG-9 glider demonstrates how the elevons and the rudder work. Elevons are aircraft control surfaces that combine the functions of the elevator (used for pitch control) and the aileron (used for roll control). Thus, elevons at the wing trailing edge are used for pitch and roll control. They are frequently used on tailless aircraft such as flying wings. The rudder is the small moving section at the rear of the vertical stabilizer that is attached to the fixed sections by hinges. Because the rudder moves, it varies the amount of force generated by the tail surface and is used to generate and control the yawing (left and right) motion of the aircraft.
    [Show full text]
  • {PDF} Cold War Delta Prototypes : the Fairey Deltas, Convair Century
    COLD WAR DELTA PROTOTYPES : THE FAIREY DELTAS, CONVAIR CENTURY-SERIES, AND AVRO 707 PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Tony Buttler | 80 pages | 22 Dec 2020 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781472843333 | English | New York, United Kingdom Cold War Delta Prototypes : The Fairey Deltas, Convair Century-series, and Avro 707 PDF Book Last edited: Apr 6, New page book apparently due from Tony Buttler this coming December via Osprey's X-Planes series although no cover image available yet : Cold War Delta Prototypes: The Fairey Deltas, Convair Century-Series, and Avro Description from Amazon: This is the fascinating history of how the radical delta-wing became the design of choice for early British and American high-performance jets, and of the role legendary aircraft like the Fairey Delta series played in its development. Install the app. Added to basket. Brendan O'Carroll. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. As said before, I'll await more details from SP readers to order or not. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. I couldn't find it on Amazon. Out of Stock. Gli architetti di Auschwitz. Norman Ferguson. Risponde Luigi Cadorna. Joined Oct 29, Messages 1, Reaction score Torna su. Meanwhile in America, with the exception of Douglas's Navy jet fighter programmes, Convair largely had the delta wing to itself. In Britain, the Fairey Delta 2 went on to break the World Air Speed Record in spectacular fashion, but it failed to win a production order. Convair did have its failures too — the Sea Dart water-borne fighter prototype proved to be a dead end.
    [Show full text]
  • Flight Dynamics and Control of a Vertical Tailless Aircraft
    cs & Aero ti sp au a n c o e r E e n Bras et al., J Aeronaut Aerospace Eng 2013, 2:4 A g f i o n Journal of Aeronautics & Aerospace l e DOI: 10.4172/2168-9792.1000119 a e r n i r n u g o J Engineering ISSN: 2168-9792 Research Article Open Access Flight Dynamics and Control of a Vertical Tailless Aircraft Bras M1, Vale J1, Lau F1 and Suleman A2* 1Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal 2University of Victoria, Victoria BC, Canada Abstract The present work aims at studying a new concept of a vertical tailless aircraft provided with a morphing tail solution with the purpose of eliminating the drag and weight created by the vertical tail structure. The solution consists on a rotary horizontal tail with independent left and right halves to serve as control surfaces. Different static scenarios are studied for different tail configurations. The proposed morphing configurations are analyzed in terms of static and dynamic stability and compared with a conventional configuration. The stability derivatives defining the limits of static stability are calculated for the whole range of tail rotation angles. The aircraft’s dynamic model is developed and feedback control systems are implemented. A sideslip suppression system, a heading control system and a speed and altitude hold system are studied for three different configurations, MC1, MC2 and MC3 configurations. Static results show that the aircraft is longitudinally stable for a wide range of tail rotation angles. Variation of tail dihedral and rotation angles are two mechanisms able to maintain directional and lateral stability but only the last is able to produce lateral force and yawing moment.
    [Show full text]
  • Variations in the Airfoil Trace the History of Flight
    Variations in the airfoil trace the history of flight. By Walter J. Boyne INGS have always captured the wing, or the elimination of all or W human imagination. The my- part of the wing. thology of flight is found in every culture. Despite this fascination, it Aerodynamic Magic was not until the nineteenth century Since the late 1940s, aerodynamic that scientists began to use precise progress has accelerated at an ever mathematics to compute the opti- greater rate, so much so that modern mum size and shape of wings for a engineering methods and materials flying machine. have combined with new require- Orville and Wilbur Wright did it ments to create totally new wing best with their 1903 Flyer, forcing configurations. Now, elaborate high- competitors to try wings of all shapes, lift devices are tucked into wing lead- styles, and dimensions to avoid in- ing and trailing edges to deploy dur- fringing on their patents. Some went ing the approach to landing, with the to multiple wings—triplanes, quadra- slats and flaps folding out like hand- planes, and more. Others altered the kerchiefs from a magician's sleeve. shape of wings to sweptback, tan- Some by-products have become dem, joined, and cruciform. perhaps too sophisticated. Where Most of the results were too inef- the thick wing of a Douglas C-47 ficient to fly; some were capable of "Gooney Bird" would let you plow generating just enough lift to stag- through cold, wet clouds forever, ger through the air if coupled with a shaking off the ice buildup with sufficiently powerful engine, and a pneumatic boots, some modern air- very few were both stable and effi- foils—as on the Aerospatiale/Alenia cient.
    [Show full text]
  • Tailless Aircraft : an Overview
    o Journal of Aeronautics and Aerospace ISSN: 2168-9792 Engineering Editorial Tailless Aircraft : An Overview Srikanth Nuthanapati Department of Aeronautics, IIT Madras,Chennai,India. EDITORIAL Apart from its main wing, it lacks a tail assembly and any other Low or null pitching moment airfoils, as seen in the Horten horizontal surface. The main wing incorporates aerodynamic family of sailplanes and fighters, provide an alternative. These control and stabilisation functions in both pitch and roll. A have a unique wing segment with reflex or reverse camber on the tailless design might nevertheless feature a rudder and a vertical back or entire wing. The flatter side of the wing is on top, while fin (vertical stabiliser). Low parasitic drag, similar to the Horten the steeply curved side is on the bottom, resulting in a high angle H.IV soaring glider, and strong stealth qualities, similar to the of attack in the front part. Northrop B-2 Spirit bomber, are theoretical advantages of the Fitting large elevators to a standard airfoil and trimming them tailless configuration. The tailless delta has proven to be the considerably upwards can approximate reflex camber; the most successful tailless layout, particularly for combat aircraft, centre of gravity must also be moved forward from its normal albeit the Concorde airliner is the most well-known tailless position. Reflex camber tends to cause a tiny downthrust due to delta. the Bernoulli effect, thus the wing's angle of attack is increased A horizontal stabiliser surface separate from the main wing is to compensate. This, in turn, adds to the drag.
    [Show full text]
  • Proceedings of the 4Th TMAL02 Expert Conference, October 14, 2019
    ExCon 2019 TMAL02 Expert Conference th The 4 Aircraft and Vehicle Design Student Expert Conference Linköping University, Fluid and MEchatronic Systems (FLUMES) 14th October 2019, Campus Valla, Linköping Proceedings of the 4th TMAL02 Expert Conference October 14, 2019, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden Editor: Dr. Ingo Staack Published by: Linköping University Electronic Press Series: Linköping Electronic Press Workshop and Conference Collection No. 8 ISBN: 978-91-7929-892-0 URL: http://www.ep.liu.se/wcc_home/default.aspx?issue=008 Organizer: Dr. Ingo Staack Division of Fluid and Mechatronic System (FLUMES) Department for Management and Engineering (IEI) Linköping University 58183 Linköping Sponsored by: Swedish Aeronautical Research Center Conference Location: Linköping University Campus Valla / Key-building, KEY1 58183 Linköping Sweden Copyright © The Authors, 2019 This proceedings and the included articles are published under the Creative Commons license Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), attribution and no additional restrictions. Proceedings of the 4th TMAL02 Expert Conference 2019 2 Editor´s Note Stay curious and combined with a high-quality education you will become a good engineer! This is now already the fourth time that the TMAL02 Expert Conference has been held as a part of the Aircraft and Vehicle Design (TMAL02) course at Linköping University. This course is one of the primer courses within the International Aeronautical Master Programme (AER) which was established in 2013 at Linköping University. To show, analyse and explain the broad spectrum of aeronautical engineering topics ranging from basic physical effects to operational aspects, from state-of-the-art designs to novel concepts, and all kind of engineering domains included within aeronautical product development from the first idea to the final flight testing campaign, requires a sound and as complete as possible background of the involved actors.
    [Show full text]
  • Low-Speed Stability and Control of Exploratory Tailless Long-Range Supersonic Configurations
    Low-Speed Stability and Control of Exploratory Tailless Long-Range Supersonic Configurations Sarah Langston A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics University of Washington 2015 Reading Committee: Professor Eli Livne, Chair Affiliate Associate Professor Chester P. Nelson Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Aeronautics & Astronautics University of Washington Abstract Low-Speed Stability and Control of Exploratory Tailless Long-Range Supersonic Configurations Sarah Langston Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Eli Livne Aeronautics and Astronautics This thesis presents studies of the low-speed stability and control of a representative long-range supersonic flight vehicle. The aircraft of interest is a research uninhabited aerial vehicle (R-UAV), a 1=16th scaled model of a concept supersonic business jet. Evaluation of stability and control characteristics is based on a linear time-invariant state-space small-perturbations approach. Low-speed wind tunnel results together with unsteady aerodynamic panel method analysis are the basis for the aerodynamic stability derivatives used. The main goal of this work is to study the effects on stability and controllability of reduction in size or complete elimination of tail surfaces, with particular emphasis on the vertical tail. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures . iii List of Tables . vi Chapter 1: Introduction . 4 1.1 Background . 4 1.1.1 The University of Washington's 2014 Senior Capstone Airplane Design Project . 4 1.2 Objectives . 5 1.3 Thesis Structure . 6 Chapter 2: Long-Range Supersonic Aircraft . 7 2.1 Supersonic Transports . 7 2.1.1 Concorde . 7 2.1.2 Tu-144 .
    [Show full text]
  • Applying Radar Cross-Section Estimations to Minimize Radar Echo
    Applying Radar Cross-Section Estimations to Minimize Radar Echo in Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle Design Jillian G. Yuricich 2016 Thesis Committee: Dr. Clifford Whitfield, Advisor Dr. Richard Freuler Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation with Honors Research Distinction in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at The Ohio State University Abstract Radar profoundly altered the development of vehicle technology for combat especially in the realm of aircraft design. The technique of purpose-shaping an aircraft to minimize the vehicle’s radar cross-section and avoid detection on radar systems became a crucial step in the development of conceptual air vehicles, however much of this work is classified by the U.S. government. The purpose of this research is to develop the best methodology for predicting the radar cross-section of an aircraft throughout the design process by using open source radar equations. In order to estimate a radar cross-section value, simple shapes and their known radar cross-section expressions were used to represent all features of the conceptual aircraft design. An unmanned combat air vehicle designated the QF-36 Thunder was designed specifically for a radar-cross section analysis. Each of the QF-36’s main components, including wings, tails, and fuselage shape, were analyzed and their radar-cross section contribution calculated to ascertain the overall aircraft radar cross- section. Adjustments to specific aspects of the QF-36 could then be made to minimize the overall radar cross-section value while maintaining performance specifications set by the Request for Proposal which defined the vehicle’s mission.
    [Show full text]
  • Flight Mechanics of a Tailless Articulated Wing Aircraft
    IOP PUBLISHING BIOINSPIRATION &BIOMIMETICS Bioinsp. Biomim. 6 (2011) 026005 (20pp) doi:10.1088/1748-3182/6/2/026005 Flight mechanics of a tailless articulated wing aircraft Aditya A Paranjape, Soon-Jo Chung and Michael S Selig Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA E-mail: [email protected] Received 22 October 2010 Accepted for publication 16 March 2011 Published 12 April 2011 Online at stacks.iop.org/BB/6/026005 Abstract This paper investigates the flight mechanics of a micro aerial vehicle without a vertical tail in an effort to reverse-engineer the agility of avian flight. The key to stability and control of such a tailless aircraft lies in the ability to control the incidence angles and dihedral angles of both wings independently. The dihedral angles can be varied symmetrically on both wings to control aircraft speed independently of the angle of attack and flight path angle, while asymmetric dihedral can be used to control yaw in the absence of a vertical stabilizer. It is shown that wing dihedral angles alone can effectively regulate sideslip during rapid turns and generate a wide range of equilibrium turn rates while maintaining a constant flight speed and regulating sideslip. Numerical continuation and bifurcation analysis are used to compute trim states and assess their stability. This paper lays the foundation for design and stability analysis of a flapping wing aircraft that can switch rapidly from flapping to gliding flight for agile manoeuvring in a constrained environment. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version) 1.
    [Show full text]
  • NASA Aeronautics Book Series
    . Douglas A. Joyce Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Joyce, Douglas A. Flying beyond the stall : the X-31 and the advent of supermaneuverability / by Douglas A. Joyce. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Stability of airplanes--Research--United States. 2. X-31 (Jet fighter plane) 3. Research aircraft--United States. 4. Stalling (Aerodynamics) I. Title. TL574.S7J69 2014 629.132’360724--dc23 2014022571 During the production of this book, the Dryden facility was renamed the Armstrong Flight Research Center. All references to the Dryden facility have been preserved for historical accuracy. Copyright © 2014 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The opinions expressed in this volume are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the United States Government or of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ISBN 978-1-62683-019-6 90000 9 781626 830196 This publication is available as a free download at http://www.nasa.gov/ebooks. Author Dedication v Foreword: The World’s First International X-Airplane vii Prologue: The Participants xi Chapter 1: Origins and Design Development .......................................................1 In the Beginning…: The Quest for Supermaneuverability ........................3 Defining a Supermaneuverable Airplane: The Path to EFM ......................5 Design and Development of the X-31 ................................................. 13 Fabrication to Eve of First Flight .........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Control of a Swept Wing Tailless Aircraft Through Wing Morphing
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2007 Control of a swept wing tailless aircraft through wing morphing Richard W. Guiler West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Guiler, Richard W., "Control of a swept wing tailless aircraft through wing morphing" (2007). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 2779. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/2779 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONTROL OF A SWEPT WING TAILLESS AIRCRAFT THROUGH WING MORPHING by Richard W. Guiler Dissertation submitted to the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering Approved by Wade Huebsch, PhD., Committee Chairperson John Loth, PhD. Gary Morris, PhD. John Kuhlman, PhD. Jens Madsen, PhD. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Morgantown, West Virginia 2007 Keywords: Morphing Aircraft Structures, Tailless Aircraft, Horten, Wing Twist, Blended Wing Body and Aircraft Controls Copyright 2007 Richard W.
    [Show full text]
  • BILL EVANS September 29, 1931 – December 17, 2017 Started Modeling in 1936 AMA #Simitar
    The AMA History Project Presents: Autobiography of BILL EVANS September 29, 1931 – December 17, 2017 Started modeling in 1936 AMA #Simitar Written and Submitted by BE (08/1997); Transcribed and Edited by SS (07/2002), Updated by JS (12/2005, 09/2008, 02/2018) Career: . Joined the Northern Indiana Gas Model Association . Worked for a hobby shop owned by Bob Roberts, manufacturer of the line of Rite-Pitch propellers . Joined the Air Force in 1952 and worked as control tower operator . Designed and built the first Lil' Esquire for Midwest Products in 1955 . Designed 75 model airplanes in the Simitar series; 30 were published as construction articles . Designed his first sailplane, the Silent Squire, in 1975 . Published articles in Model Aviation, Model Airplane News, Radio Control Modeler, Flying Models, Model Builder and Radio Control Sportsman magazines . Started a foam cutting and kit business in 1975 called Soaring Research; the name later changed to Bill Evans Aircraft . Designed, built and flew the Saracen, his first flying wing, in 1975 Aircraft and flying have been a key issue with Bill since a very early age. It began with watching aircraft at the local airport in Gary, Indiana. His first flying effort was folding and tossing paper gliders into the air. Bill’s first building project was a 10-cent Comet kit in 1937. This was followed by many more of the same. In 1943, Bill built his first powered Free Flight model, a Sal Taibi Brooklyn Dodger with a Brown, Jr. engine up front. Next were many more Free Flights. His first Control Line was a Stanzel Shark G-Line powered by a Rocket .46.
    [Show full text]