THE AIRCRAFT
ALTERNATIVE
MODES OF FLIGHT
· Boomerang planes solve
twin engine problems
Aviation designer Burt Rutan has developed a safer alternative to the twin engined aircraft with an engine on each wing, which can be problematic if there is a slight discrepancy in power between the engines. The new Boomerang five seater composite plane has a 210 hp engine mounted in the nose of the main fuselage with a smaller 200 hp engine mounted in a secondary fuselage set back 1.5 m and connected to the tail boom and left wing. Navigation is via a Global Positioning System while other data is provided by a Macintosh computer.
· New craft combines benefits
of helicopters and aeroplanes
The tiltrotor, a combination of a helicopter and an aeroplane, could take to the sky by 1999, nearly 60 years after the craft was flights into space a realistic possibility. Taking off from a runway, the 747 sized craft is powered by an airbreathing rocket until it switches to convectional rocket technology. The skyplane is based on the horizontal take off and landing (HOTOL) concept. It could be used to transport a maximum of 12 tonnes into space or fly people across to the other side of the world in less than two hours.
PASSENGER
PLANES
· Second generation Concord
under development for 2010
European, American, Japanese and Russian aviation engineers are currently drawing up plans for cheaper fare versions of the Concords can reach temperatures of 127°c. As a result, the fuselage expands. To exceed Mach 2.4 very expensive materials would be required to cope with the extreme effects. It is likely that the second generation SST programme will utilize folding Canard fore wing and, instead for drooping nose which provides pilots with a forward view during landing and take off, cameras will be mounted on the landing gear, cutting the plane’s weight by 4,500 kg.
FLGHT SYSTEMS
· Realistic flight simulation
for air, land and sea craft
The Simona Research Simulator has been described as the most advanced flight simulator in the world. The simulator is mounted of sex hydraulic legs, which provides a much more realistic experience than can be achieved in any other existing systems. The Simona systems, developed by a research group at Delft University in Holland, incorporates a 180° by 40º view display, which can be remodeled to recreate the interiors of planes and helicopters as well as cars and boats.
· Air traffic to be controlled by
Global Positioning System
As the skies become increasingly crowded with aircraft, the current Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, which relies on radar technology and strict flight path rules, will be superseded in the 21st century be the ‘Free Flight’ system. Using the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian Glonass satellite network for navigation, Free Flight should result in fewer delays and accidents as aeroplanes are directed along the quickest and most direct route.
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