flighty 0 #1 February 21, 2004 From slashdot.org Jet-powered Nausicaa Glider Project SuperElectric writes "As reported on slashdot.jp, Opensky is a project led by media artist Kazuhiko Hachiya to implement a working, jet-powered version of Moewe, the vehicle (pic) that the heroine rides on in "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind". They've successfully test-flown (.mov, 8.6MB) a 1/2 scale model, and are moving into phase 2, which includes interviewing for test pilots (women only!). Can anybody knowledgeable in experimental aeronautics speculate on how doable this is? While it's not designed for general production (riders must be less than 50 kg/120 lbs), this would certainly beat Segway any day!" Looks a little poorly thought out. If you just added a cockpit and seat it would be great, oh wait, that would be an airplane. ~Cindy~ Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari? Spelling and grammar errors are left as an exercise for the reader. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lee03 0 #2 February 21, 2004 My question is this, if it is jet POWERED, how can it be a glider? A glider/sailplane is an UNPOWERED craft. There are many powered glider/sailplanes, often refered to as motorgliders, but the very fact that they are powered, i.e. have an engine, be it jet or piston powered, prevents it from being a glider/sailplane! Jet powered glider, I'm afraid, is somewhat of an oximoron!-------- To put your life in danger from time to time ... breeds a saneness in dealing with day-to-day trivialities. --Nevil Shute, Slide Rule Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJL 235 #3 February 21, 2004 Quoteblah, blah-blah-blah, blahblah blahblah, blah blah blah blah blah blahblah Oh shut up."I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #4 February 21, 2004 Yes, it is do-able from an engineering perspective. The closer the pilot is to the top skin and the farther forward her center of gravity, the more stable the flying machine. However I am waiting for the version designed for a 200 pound pilot: me! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,118 #5 February 21, 2004 > the farther forward her center of gravity, the more stable the flying machine. I believe that CG in and of itself isn't a factor in stability; it's the relationship of CG to the centers of lift. A normal aircraft gets its dynamic stability because the wing's lift is near the CG, and so lift from the wing does not affect attitude much. The tail is far from the CG, and so affects attitude a lot. The tail on a normal aircraft generates NEGATIVE lift - that is, it generates lift downwards. When the nose comes down for some reason, the plane speeds up. The wing generates both more lift (more speed) and less lift (lower angle of attack) but does not affect attitude much. The tail generates more lift downwards (higher AOA downwards and higher speed.) That pulls the nose back up; hence the plane is stable in pitch, and will return to level flight after an upset. If you put the CG way far forward the plane will be "stable" in pitch but the only stable position will be straight down, like a dart. For a flying-wing design, the CG has to be a little in front of the center of lift (the C/4 point, or the neutral point., which is about 1/4 way along the airfoil.) Flying wings also generally have to be "reflexed" - they have to have an airfoil with a tail that tends slightly upwards to provide that pitch stabilizing force. Another thing you can do nowadays is to ignore stability altogether. You could put three control surfaces on a piece of plywood, sit on it, and create a stable glider by letting a computer adjust the flight surfaces. (although you still need a rudder.) You can optimize for efficiency or looks without much regard for stability and do it all in the computer. A good reference: http://www.mh-aerotools.de/airfoils/flywing1.htm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lee03 0 #6 February 21, 2004 "Another thing you can do nowadays is to ignore stability altogether. You could put three control surfaces on a piece of plywood, sit on it, and create a stable glider by letting a computer adjust the flight surfaces. (although you still need a rudder.) You can optimize for efficiency or looks without much regard for stability and do it all in the computer." Correct! If fact, that is the only reason the F-16 is capable of flyiing, computers doing exactly what you said. It is so unstable, that without computers it would tumble and fall out of the air!-------- To put your life in danger from time to time ... breeds a saneness in dealing with day-to-day trivialities. --Nevil Shute, Slide Rule Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
