Posted on 01/11/2024 9:32:09 AM PST by Red Badger
In third phase of CRANE program, Aurora Flight Sciences will build X-plane with no moving control surfaces.
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Aurora Flight Sciences has been chosen by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to construct a groundbreaking full-scale X-plane. This aircraft, named the X-65, will serve as a technology demonstrator within the Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) program. This initiative marks a significant shift in the realm of aircraft design, moving away from traditional flight control methods towards the innovative use of Active Flow Control (AFC) actuators.
Since the Wright brothers' historic flight in 1903, aircraft have predominantly relied on movable, external control surfaces for maneuvering. The X-65 disrupts this long-standing design approach by employing jets of air from a pressurized source to manipulate the flow of air over the aircraft's surfaces. This technique, utilizing AFC effectors on various parts of the aircraft, will control the plane's roll, pitch, and yaw. The expected benefits of this shift are substantial, including reductions in weight and complexity and enhancements in performance.
Dr. Richard Wlezien, DARPA's program manager for CRANE, emphasizes the unique aspects of the X-65, particularly its diamond-like wing shape. This design is intended to optimize the learning potential about AFC in real-world, full-scale tests. The aircraft will incorporate both traditional flaps and rudders and AFC effectors across its lifting surfaces. This dual-setup aims to provide a reliable baseline using conventional control surfaces and gradually transition to a focus on AFC effectiveness.
Wlezien likens the X-65's conventional surfaces to "training wheels," offering an initial understanding of AFC's potential as a replacement for traditional flight controls. The aircraft will be equipped with sensors to monitor and compare the performance of AFC effectors with that of traditional control mechanisms. This data will be instrumental in exploring how AFC technology could revolutionize both military and commercial aviation.
The unmanned X-65, weighing over 7,000 pounds and boasting a 30-foot wingspan, is designed to reach speeds up to Mach 0.7. Its size and speed parameters, akin to those of a military trainer aircraft, ensure that the flight-test results will be immediately relevant to current aircraft design.
Notably, the X-65 is being developed as a modular platform. This design choice allows for easy interchangeability of wing sections and AFC effectors, ensuring the aircraft's longevity as a test asset for DARPA and other agencies even after the completion of the CRANE program.
Fabrication of the X-plane has already commenced at Aurora Flight Sciences, with an anticipated rollout in early 2025 and the first flight scheduled for that summer. Wlezien, who joined DARPA in 1999 to work on the Micro Adaptive Flow Control program, which laid the groundwork for CRANE, expressed his excitement about the project. His return to DARPA to oversee this full-scale implementation of early research into a physical aircraft underscores the significance and potential impact of the X-65 project.
AVIATION Ping!....................
for military or civilian uses?
How would jets of air changing on the surface of the aircraft effect stealth, for example?
I don’t know; just curious.
Good questions.
Stay tuned and we’ll find out!................
This design would probably improve stealth since moving control surfaces like flaps and rudders have long straight lines and more angles to reflect radar than stealth designers like.
Interesting- hope they fasten the door on good.
What happens when the engine craps out?
Gravity kicks in...................
Mach 1 is what, five years out?
Oh i can see this going so wrong...they better have robust redundancies in case the pressurised tank system primaries go ffffffft!
In addition to your questions, we need to have a clear understanding of how the plane’s conceivers/designers/program managers fulfill all important aspects of DEI, diversity, inclusiveness, and environmental impact...
We shall also need to be assured that all the people who will be involved in the actual construction will represent unions, LGBTX, BLM, and the Nation’s 60-million migrant invaders...
The plane’s future looks bright!
mach one airspeed might be 5 years out...that haven’t told us if it will be our 1st Warp 5 capable star ship. LOL!
(Those danged Darpa Vulcans!)
Hell I was hoping for Warp 1!...........
Absolutely NOT!
THAT future is failure.
😎
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