Posted on 09/27/2010 10:46:46 AM PDT by managusta
The DEMON uses output from the jets to control airflow over the plane, manipulating lift and drag without using traditional mechanisms to steer.
Its developers believe the technology could revolutionize the stealth capabilities of military aircraft by reducing edges and gaps that can be picked up on radar.
The technology could also reduce fuel and maintenance costs for commercial airliners.
Professor John Fielding, chief engineer and lead for the DEMON demonstrator team from Cranfield University, said: ''To make an aircraft fly and maneuver safely without the use of conventional control surfaces is an achievement in itself.
The DEMON was developed around a concept called ''fluidic flight control'' and is designed to forgo the use of conventional mechanical elevators and ailerons, or flaps.
It is instead maneuvered by hundreds of tiny jets that blast air in order to influence to change the lift, drag and other features of performance.
The result is a more streamlined, aerodynamic craft that cuts down on edges and gaps - features that can increase radar detection.
Additionally it cuts down the number of moving and electrical parts in both military and civil aircraft, affecting cost, reliability, weight, efficiency and maintenance.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
AH my favorite the Black Widow. This sure seemed like a winner to me and I pray it’s being secretly developed under a secret project.
Hey, who you gonna believe, Them or your lyin' eyes?
Hey that’s nothing. In the White House we have a Teleprompter of the U.S. who speaks without a brain.
ping
The Wright brothers’ planes maneuvered without flaps.
Interesting but what happens if power is lost?
The Pilot's pucker factor shifts into Hyperdive.
Doesn’t have a prayer with a name like DEMON.
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