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ZL2VAL > TECHNO 01.08.03 19:53l 104 Lines 4474 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: NASA jet warps in to Air show
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From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : TECHNO@WW
NASA NEWS
NASA Wing-Warping Jet Flies to Oshkosh
07.29.03
NASA's Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 research jet arrived in Oshkosh,
Wis., for the world's largest aviation event, AirVenture 2003, July 28.
Image to left: NASA's Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 research jet
arrived in Oshkosh, Wis., for the world's largest aviation event,
AirVenture 2003, July 28.
A research jet with a curious link to the Wright Flyer flew to Oshkosh,
Wis., July 28 to join the world's largest aviation event. The people and
aircraft gathered at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture
2003 this week to celebrate a century of flight include a special NASA
F/A-18 with the ability to twist its wings to cause the airplane to
roll. That's a new twist on a very old theme -- wing warping --
exploited by Wilbur and Orville Wright.
The Wright brothers pioneered flight with aircraft that twisted, or
warped, their wingtips to induce a bank instead of using hinged ailerons
for the purpose. Over time, hinged ailerons and rigid wings became the
practical means of aircraft roll control, and wing-warping retired to
museums.
But as speeds increased in the jet age, wing-warping occasionally
returned unintentionally. Pilots of the sleek, slim-wing B-47 Stratojet
encountered a phenomenon at high speeds where aileron deflection caused
the limber wing to twist in the opposite way, reversing the direction of
roll input. Called aileron reversal, this trait was also discovered on
pre-production F-18 jets, prompting production versions to have stiffer
wings.
Now NASA's Active Aeroelastic Wing program capitalizes on special
pliable wings to initiate roll in the modified Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18
flown to AirVenture 2003. Soon, new flight control software will prompt
the ailerons and movable leading edge control surfaces to respond to
normal pilot stick inputs by causing the Aeroelastic Wing testbed's
wings to deflect. The roll induced in this manner will make the aircraft
independent of horizontal stabilizer inputs to keep the aircraft on
course in a roll.
The testbed has flown at speeds up to Mach 1.3 as engineers explore the
flexibility of the special wings. With that knowledge, the testers will
devise flight control software to exploit the Aeroelastic Wing
phenomenon in tests next year.
This modern take-off on the Wrights' wing-warping idea made the NASA
Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 the first aircraft to wear the official
Centennial of Flight insignia.
The ability to use computer flight control programs and state-of-the-art
flexible wings could lead to future high-performance aircraft with
lighter, less mechanically complex wings. The ability to maneuver at
high speeds could become simpler, and more efficient through
wing-warping. Benefits could include lighter weight, which may translate
into other desirables: speed, range, or payload.
NASA's Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 research jet arrived in Oshkosh,
Wis., for the world's largest aviation event, AirVenture 2003, July 28.
Image to right: NASA's wing-warping research jets fill the skies at the
Oshkosh air show.
Wing warping could become a tool for NASA and industry designers who
seek the ultimate morphing airplane, with an airframe that can change
shape to constantly seek desired flight parameters throughout a wide
speed range.
The program is conducted by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center located
on Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert. It is jointly
funded and managed by NASA Dryden and the Air Force Research
Laboratory's Air Vehicles Directorate. Boeing's Phantom Works division
in St. Louis, Mo., is the prime contractor for aircraft modifications
and software development. Lockheed-Martin developed the research flight
control computer.
For more information on the Active Aeroelastic Wing program, visit:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov
Story Credit:
Frederick A. Johnsen
News Chief
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
==============================
73 de Alan
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