The Flying Wing!
From a tip as provided by Sharkhunters here we have details and images of the flying wing transport as developed post World War Two [WW2].
An aviation development as engineered by the famous Horten brothers.
Horten the brothers most interested in "cutting-edge" technology and design.
"Walter Horten . . . and Reimar Horten . . . sometimes credited as the Horten Brothers, were German aircraft pilots and enthusiasts. Although they had little, if any, formal training in aeronautics or related fields, the Hortens designed some of the most advanced aircraft of the 1940s, including the world's first jet-powered flying wing, the Horten Ho 229."
That Horten Ho 229 only a prototype and never advancing beyond that level of development. BUT did have potentiality.
That technology of the time and ONLY until relatively recently not sufficient to allow the "flying wing" to be taken seriously.
The "flying wing" UNCONDITIONALLY UNSTABLE in all environments. Almost impossible to fly and again not a feasible concept during that era of WW2.
Massive use of computer controlled technology making autonomous and constant corrections independent of pilot control allowing for modern "flying wing" aircraft to fly and do so in a manner that is efficient and SAFE!
Those Horten brothers also another example of a German diaspora that existed in the aftermath of WW2. German engineers and scientists possessing an expertise in demand by a host of nations. Emigration seen as an alternative to poverty and unemployment in post-war Germany.
Those Horten brothers continuing with their development of the flying wing concept, that Argentinian built flying wing transport the DINFIA IA 38 a result.
A IA 38 under construction. In this instance better referred to as a "tailless" aircraft?
As with the Ho 229 the DINFIA IA 38 only a concept and prototype, and nothing more beyond that.
The IA 38 did take to the air and was "fly-able". In comparison to other cargo aircraft of the time, the tailless aircraft was not competitive?
"The DINFIA IA 38 was a 1960s Argentine four-engine experimental tailless transport, designed under the direction of Reimar Horten and based on the German Horten Ho VIII project and built by the DINFIA."
Four engines that appear to be jets? The Horten brothers were autodidacts [self-taught] intrigued by controversial and revolutionary aeronautical concepts but their efforts rarely if ever came to fruition!
coolbert.
"The "flying wing" UNCONDITIONALLY UNSTABLE in all environments. "Almost impossible to fly and again not a feasible concept during that era of WW2.
ReplyDeleteMassive use of computer controlled technology making autonomous and constant corrections independent of pilot control allowing for modern "flying wing" aircraft to fly and do so in a manner that is efficient and SAFE!"
I believe that this statement is arguably mis-informed in that although I'm not personally an aerodynamicist (only the most junior in such black arts) statements similar to those that you have made can be reused for any argument against an aerial wing layout. The F16 was designed to be aerodynamically unstable yet this doesn't mean the same thing for ALL aircraft with the classical wing shape of a vertical and horizontal tail mounted behind the larger main wing, it just means that the aircraft is aerodynamically designed that way.
My argument is that at a time of such a limited understanding of fluid dynamics, designers didn't really know if their aircraft would be stable or not(although they did have a handle on it) due to the fact that they couldn't properly grasp the aerodynamic mechanics until the aircraft was airborne.
The Hortens themselves flew several un-powered flying wings; if these aircraft were so unstable, HOW could 3 teenage brothers successfully fly these gliders in competition with little flying experience.
Gliding is one of the hardest and most unforgiving types of flight yet 3 teenagers who built flying wing gliders within their own home without any "proper training" made gliders which were verified to be competitive against others after the war by the USA and UK.
Fact remains that if the flying wing concept was "unconditionally unstable" the Northop N-9M SURELY wouldn't be allowed to fly today...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UOL9Eob94k