| Talking about future aircraft is possibly one of the | | | | flying at certain degrees offered high performance |
| most exciting topics I can find. We must agree that | | | | advantages, specially reducing extremely the |
| in the last 40 years thousands of innovations have | | | | consumption of fuel by traveling at the same speed, |
| been brought to the airlines industry. Bigger, more | | | | as the drag force was reduced when pivoting the |
| powerful, quicker, greener, more automatic, stable, | | | | wing. |
| etc. | | | | This revolutionary concept was showing the best |
| Unfortunately, during this last 40 years we can't | | | | results in stability when traveling at 1.4 times the |
| speak of a real breakthrough on the world of | | | | speed of sound. A plane could take off with the |
| transport planes. As an example, putting the shape of | | | | wings in the normal position, and at same time that |
| a Boeing 707 and an Airbus A340 one above the | | | | speed was increased while accelerating in the air, the |
| other we will find out that it is nearly the same, only | | | | wings would go pivoting and reaching the maximum |
| that 40 years separate them. | | | | degree when cruise speed was reached. |
| Why? Due to the high risk involved with nowadays | | | | Unfortunately, the tests were driven with a small |
| industry. Once upon a time we were able to | | | | plastic and fiberglass plane that, for security reasons, |
| innovate, people was able to spend time and money | | | | was limited to a maximum speed of 170 mph. It was |
| looking for new revolutionary projects. Actually, the | | | | piloted successfully on 79 occasions and only poor |
| high competence between companies makes that a | | | | handling qualities at sweep angles above 45 degrees |
| brief risk analysis turns aways any possibility for real | | | | were encountered. In any case, the reason for this |
| breakthrough. | | | | problems was the low cost involved in the project, |
| We only need to move back to the Concorde case, | | | | and theory and research demonstrated that if done |
| and that makes it a lot easier to understand why | | | | properly, the plane should have been even more |
| companies are so afraid of thinking in an innovative | | | | easy to pilot. The materials used, the size of the |
| way. There is place for small progressive changes but | | | | plane, and the low speed while testing high angles |
| we have left back the major breakthroughs. That | | | | made the plane perform in non-optimum conditions. |
| could give topic to some new articles, but in this one | | | | The project was archived after resulting in success |
| I want to explore one of the possibilities that have | | | | and new ideas have been developed since then |
| been brought as a future aircraft. | | | | following the same basics, up to a point where the |
| The Oblique Flying Wing is a project that began many | | | | wing could constitute the body of the plane |
| years ago, back in 1979. It was a research project | | | | themselves and would be able to pivot in the same |
| conducted by the NASA and the idea was to try a | | | | way keeping the engines fix pointing to the direction |
| new design for an aircraft that had only one wing | | | | of flying. |
| that crossed above the plane's body. This wing was | | | | It is a shame that such an interesting project for |
| able to turn on its vertical axis up to 60 degrees. This | | | | supersonic flights involves so much risk and no |
| model was called AD-1. | | | | aircraft manufacturer accepts to take it. Progressive |
| This plane was a result of many aerodynamic | | | | developments are not risky, but have an important |
| investigations that brought to conclude that a wing | | | | point to consider: are we developing progressively |
| that was able to pivot and face the direction of | | | | along a path with no exit? |