interesting PDF from BAE

www.icas.org...
you can really see allot of similarities to some other contractors gear. almost 10 years old

a reply to: penroc3

A flapless vehicle! Nice!

Ten British universities have been working with BAE Systems on a new unmanned experimental drone system called Demon. Demon, which uses small air jets to manuever rather than conventual mechanical flaps, has been developed under the £6.2m FLAVIIR programme. Demon, had its first flight in mid September [2010] from Walney Island Airport, a small airport owned by BAE Systems on an island off the Cumbrian coast.

dronewars.net -BAE’s Demon Drone Flies With Help of Ten British Universities (photo)

Is that the same as the PDF? (Have limited access to web drives and defense sites... even crock pots can set off "malicious site visited" automatic emails!)

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Same Demon, but there's more in the PDF than just the Demon.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Flapless is the future. You dont want to lowrr a elevator flap or something as a stealth aircraft and suddenly be picked up on radar.

Fluedic thrust vectoring for the win. Plus it does so much more than the public thinks.

a reply to: anzha

I didn't take a peek (yet). Got a few more minutes before going mobile.

Something to look forward to! Thanks!

a reply to: BASSPLYR

Plasma work too. Just saying!

That PBS demo was impressive (plasma). I'll have to keep an eye out for your new search term!

It always amuses me when there's a "new" breakthrough in technology like this. A couple of years ago, the big news was the wing that changes shape instead of having conventional control surfaces. It's like everyone forgets MAW ever existed, and we go back to square one.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Everything old is new again.

One of the reasons I left supercomputing was the briefings for the exascale efforts were rehashes of tech from the 90s before the Massively parallel processors wiped out the alternate technologies.

Everything old is new again.

How long 'til we see forward swept wings being the future again, Zaph????

a reply to: anzha

I give it ten years, tops.

a reply to: penroc3

It has some Flaviir.

Nice diamond shape too.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
It always amuses me when there's a "new" breakthrough in technology like this. A couple of years ago, the big news was the wing that changes shape instead of having conventional control surfaces. It's like everyone forgets MAW ever existed, and we go back to square one.

Keeps the money coming in.

"Cough" blown flaps "cough"

a reply to: Zaphod58

i think its pretty funny that all this new stuff is over a decade old and still people think this is a new breakthrough, but its still pretty interesting.

a reply to: penroc3

Most of it is older than that. They were flying MAW on an EF-111 in the late 80s.

a reply to: Zaphod58

what's the hold up on going comercial. i think i remember it going black for alittle while but the concept is basic enough that you would think big airliners would utilize this tech to help with noise and fuel

a reply to: penroc3

Airlines don't like change. Going flapless is a risk, and would require change in the maintenance requirements, which would mean money spent.

a reply to: Zaphod58

true enough. i wonder if(and it's a big if) air lines start using supersonic transports if they will use this idea, anything to reduce the noise seems like it would be a plus. and if it came with original aircraft the maintenance teams would be able to learn from day one.

the pdf also was pretty open about building sensors and other systems distributed in the airframe and skin of the UAV. with MHD and a whole airframe acting as a battery or capacitor you would be able to store and use high amounts of power, for DEW or what ever else

a reply to: Zaphod58
I remember MAW well. I think it may have been even a little earlier than that possibly 84-85. I got a book on the F-111 as a teenager and I'm pretty sure its in it. Same series of books also had some artists concepts for "future" fighters and helicopters, one of which resembled the current SB-1 Defiant except with gas turbine direct propulsion instead of the pusher prop.

It always surprises me how far behind in many ways the aviation game actually is. The public think its all space age and high tech, yet frequently its not. The computing technology in say the A-380 or 787 is actually a decade and a half to two decades old, ancient in desktop PC terms. Seems they have development leaps then sometimes keep using the same idea/material/basic design for 50+ years.

a reply to: thebozeian

Yeah, it was sometime around then. I forget the exact dates, just that it was 80s. Very interesting program, and quite successful. When I saw the flapless system that NASA was playing with last year (or was it two years ago) that's the first thing I thought of.

It always made me laugh to get under the skin of something new and see all the old switches and wires, and crappy electronics.

Achoo..
Sensorcraft

a reply to: Zaphod58

It always made me laugh to get under the skin of something new and see all the old switches and wires, and crappy electronics.

Yes I was looking at a 360 degree HD image the other night of the restored B-29 "Doc". What really struck me was the similarity of materials, design and even almost actual components with say a 747-400. So much of what is in use today is in many ways ancient in design, or at least its lineage.I noted one of the cockpit lights in the B-29 reminded me of the service area lights you might find in the belly or gear wells of a Jumbo, and about as effective too. The map reading lights fitted in a brand new 737 are identical to those fitted in the first 707 and probably date back to almost WWII. I think we are overdue for some very big leaps in technology and it appears we are on the cusp of quite a few.