Supersonic Flying Wing Nabs $100,000 from NASA (Flying Ninja Star)

LiveScience.com ^ | August 30, 2012 | Staff

[C19fan]

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 produced by a sonic boom — a major factor that previously limited where the supersonic Concorde passenger jet could fly over populated land masses.

[C19fan]

That is weird. This is obscure but I like steam punk anime. There was this one anime series, Last Exile, and the bad guys flew aircraft just like that.

[skinkinthegrass]

!

[Joe Brower]

Yeah, cool thing about anime -- you can totally ignore the laws of physics and it still looks feasible. Those craft could also transform and ambulate on the ground as well. Neat trick.

All you need is a little Claudia fluid. $;-)

[DManA]

Boeing invests a lot of capital in a staff of highly trained engineers to design planes that people want to buy.

We don’t need bureaucrats doling out our tax dollars to crackpots in parallel.

If customers demand a hypersonic transport private business will provide it to them.

[Wings-n-Wind]

This ninja-star airliner....

Inherently unstable at any speed....

All the flight control software in creation cannot prevent a certain spin and likely tumbling should one of those two engines hiccup or fail at a critical moment...

There are design engineers who enjoy their artists' sketches and pipe dreams...

--AND--
There are pilots who live with the daily line-flying realities and variables of transport aviation...

Including staying safe in the context of all the reasonable "what-if's"...
--"what's the next unexpected thing"...
and the "one-more-thing" to deal with...
(usually external factors--weather... traffic conflict/delays... etc.)

When engineers and pilots work together...
...the new generation aircraft are that much more safe, fuel-efficient, and cost-effective...

*************

*************

LOCKHEED was the BEST!...

BOEING is VERY GOOD at this...

McDONNELL-DOUGLAS [RIP]... fair to midline....

--AND--
SCAREBUS.... not so much at all...

JMHO

**************

Have a nice flight...

[reg45]

Quiet Supersonic

[USNBandit]

Some years ago my unit loaned an F-5 for a shaped sonic boom test. The selection of the F-5 was mostly based on pre existing data on the F-5 sonic boom signature. After putting this nose on, it was actually hard to get the thing supersonic, but the test was still a success.

[RainMan]

"The U.S. has already begun carrying out tests of unmanned hypersonic aircraft, but with mixed results. A U.S. Air Force test of the unmanned X-51A WaveRider ended prematurely when the aircraft plunged into the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 14."

yeah, that would ruin your day.

[Erasmus]

Looks like a pelican.

[Wings-n-Wind]

Interesting idea...

It looks like and old Piper Aerostar in the front...
...with jet engines...
And an empennage resembles the old F-101 Voodoo....

Thanks...

[USNBandit]

The challenge to getting that thing going fast is that the F-5 used an aeronautical design concept called area rule to go fast. The “pelican” beak kinda tosses that all out the window. It could still go supersonic, but it would have been easier if they had strapped on an extra engine. :)

[Focault's Pendulum]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks C19fan, and g’night all.