..and it's US counterpart...

Vought tri-service XC-142A

Boeing Bird of Prey!!

(one of the slipperiest ships ever designed...)

Originally Posted by maukabud

Boeing Bird of Prey!!

(one of the slipperiest computer-augmented ships ever designed...)

Now, that is one of the most perfect-looking airframes ever created!

Joel

Originally Posted by maukabud

Boeing Bird of Prey!!

(one of the slipperiest computer-augmented ships ever designed...)

actually that craft was designed in a new kind of low cost program, and they did NOT use fly by wire, it had hydraulic controls and was aerodynamically stable, lol
so maybe it would make a good UM

Originally Posted by maukabud

..and it's US counterpart...

Vought tri-service XC-142A

Bud,

Can't you just hear the sound of all four Eflite 180s synced-up @ WOT? Would also make a great FPV platform!

Joel, dreaming of flying four-engine VTOL UM aircraft from the cockpit Joel.

Custer Channel Wing:

Originally Posted by pow-wow

actually that craft was designed in a new kind of low cost program, and they did NOT use fly by wire, it had hydraulic controls and was aerodynamically stable, lol
so maybe it would make a good UM

You know, now that I recall... you're right!! I stand corrected. I'd forgotten I'd read that...it was very successful, and very hush-hush. Hmmm, would make a tasty UMX. You can see the ancestry in the lines of the F-22...

Originally Posted by turboparker

Bud,

Can't you just hear the sound of all four Eflite 180s synced-up @ WOT? Would also make a great FPV platform!

Joel, dreaming of flying four-engine VTOL UM aircraft from the cockpit Joel.

Man that would be awesome...guess that's where the problems start though...more motors, more weight, more draw...bigger batt needed, higher wing loading...round n round...

Hope our HH engineer egghead friends are reading....



Howz 'bout...

Grumman X-29!

Wow tracknoob...that's a new one on me!

Nice!

Looks like it utilizes some variation of Coanda effect and boundary layer airflow...neat!

Originally Posted by maukabud

Wow tracknoob...that's a new one on me!

Nice!

Looks like it utilizes some variation of Coanda effect and boundary layer airflow...neat!

Yup, very short take off and landing by using the engines to get airflow over those massive wind sections, regardless of ground speed. The poor guy that invented it went bankrupt trying to prove it worked, which it very much did. They say the A-10 takes some aerodynamic cues from it.... Lemmeee see if there is a Wikipedia on the guy, there usually is, right?


(comes back)

Meh.

Doesn't really do justice to the lore I've heard. Maybe I'll root around for a better source.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custer_Channel_Wing

The grand-daddy of the Osprey...the Bell X-22


This is kinda what I was thinking the taxi-thing was going to be (or something like it)...I'd fly this badboy 'round my house indeed.

Here is one short piece on the Custer Wing concept. Take a look at the pic, but also the caption. The guy has it levitating 12 feet in the air (tethered), and yet still people would not believe it could generate 'static' lift.

Dang, it's a pdf, so I don't know how to link it, but here is a link to the general WEBpage, but then you have to select the specific archive page "044" of many other pages seen there. Trust me, it's worth it!

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchi...0-%200055.html



Also, another short page with some pics and tidbits:

http://www.maam.org/aircraft/ccw5.html


Ah, now we are getting into some 'meat':
http://www.rexresearch.com/custer/custer.htm

Harold R. Custer, Willard's son, made the first flight of the new aircraft on July 3, 1948. Harold is as energetic and determined as his father, and has the unique distinction of having logged more channel wing time than any other pilot -- over 1,000 hours.

Harold totaled 100 hours flying time in the CCW-2, which could take off in 45 to 65 feet, and land in the same distance. Lateral control of the wingless vehicle was obtained by differential use of the throttles.

The flight test program was not without its highlights. The C.A.A. insisted that wings be mounted on the test bed, and short stubs were attached. These neither helped nor hindered the aircraft, according to Custer, but did mollify the bureaucracy. More significantly, the aircraft demonstrated vertical lift in zero wind conditions, while tethered.

First flight of the CCW-5 took place on July 13, 1953, with Walker J. Davidson at the controls. The company then spent the next several years performing demonstrations for civil and military audiences. These demonstrations consisted largely of maximum performance take-offs, with a terrifyingly steep climb out, using steep turns to the right and left at a high angle of attack and at speeds well below the stall speed of conventional aircraft to impress the audience. Motion pictures of the demonstration are heart-stopping; you know that an aircraft in that attitude, at that altitude and airspeed, is going to crash -- but the CCW just keeps on turning.

Slow flight was a specialty, with speeds as low as 22 mph being measured. On August 27, 1954, in a remarkable display of the channel wing's ability, the CCW-5 was actually hovered against an 11 mph wind. The demonstrations would then conclude with a steep approach, an incredibly short landing, with the turnoff not at the first intersection, but at the approach end of the runway.

Take-off technique is critical in the CCW-5, for the pilot has to rotate sharply after the first 100 feet of roll, so that the high velocity air stream passing through the channel does not bounce off the runway against the undersurface of the horizontal stabilizer. If this happens, the nose can be forced down, considerably lengthening the take-off roll.

Originally Posted by maukabud

Boeing Bird of Prey!!

(one of the slipperiest computer-augmented ships ever designed...)

Originally Posted by turboparker

Now, that is one of the most perfect-looking airframes ever created!

Joel

Originally Posted by pow-wow

actually that craft was designed in a new kind of low cost program, and they did NOT use fly by wire, it had hydraulic controls and was aerodynamically stable, lol
so maybe it would make a good UM

Well, with 20" wingspan but almost twice the lenght, it's not truly a UM, but if you want to see the RC version fly, with no electronic assistance, watch this video!!

Bird Of Prey LOW LEVEL PASS on the deck!!! (2 min 46 sec)

An X-29 would be cool. How about an X-31?

X-31 Demonstration , Dryden's 60 Years of Flight Research video (2 min 2 sec)

Wow that's cool RG...I wants it. those guys were driving down the road whilst flying it from the vehicle.. ..lol..and I thought I had ballz.

yah Joel the X-31 is one of my faves...a sveldt looking ship indeed...kind of a cross between a Skyhawk and Typhoon...with the vectored thrust thrown in for good measure.


Speaking of vectored thrust and FBW...

F-15 SMTD/ACTIVE:

Bud,

You just had to post those F-15 pics! <drool!> Now I just have to post up the video I took of an F-15E doing its thing at the Duluth airshow last year. You'll have to first watch a Harrier, F-18, and F4 - any of which would be good candidates for AS3X planes. (See how I reined this one in? )

Duluth Airshow 2010 - Harrier, F-18, F-4, F-15E (29 min 31 sec)

Joel