Jan 25
ynaNASA, News b-2 spirit, b-2 spirit model plane, B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, comnmercial jet planes, flying wing, hybrid aircraft, hybrid commercial jet planes, hybrid jet planes, NASA hybrid planes, Northrop Grumman B-2 Stealth Bomber
NASA was successful in demonstrating a manufacturing technique to make large hybrid aircraft possible. Compared to the conventional jet planes, a hybrid aircraft is more fuel-efficient and produce less noise.
Before the NASA demonstration, there were four generally known airplane shapes – a tube with wings, a blended wing body, a hybrid wing, and a flying wing. The last three discard the use of the tube for a flatter chassis that has an almost rectangular cross-section. The body on these three designs also act like wings giving additional lift to the aircraft. It gives the advantages of reduced weight and drag resulting to higher top speeds and less fuel consumption. However, aerospace engineers have always faced the dilemma that flying wings cannot transport large number of people. The US military use a dozen of flying wings aircraft, but these are generally small aircraft that do not necessarily consider that comfort of the soldiers that use it. The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber of Northrop Grumman is the probably the most popular example of a hybrid aircraft.
In the space agency’s demonstration, NASA showed a manufacturing method of making a hybrid flying wing aircraft that can be big and comfortable enough for commercial travel. The new technique can reduce up to 25 percent of the aircraft’s structural weight. NASA hopes that in a decade or two, this manufacturing technique can be use to build commercial jet planes.
The hybrid flying wing is part of NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project. The project started in 2009 and aims to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment.
Hybrid jet planes can be the aircraft of the future. Fuel your love for aviation with the jet model planes from Warplanes. Warplanes also offer detail-rich replica of your favorite NASA models.
News Source: www.extremetech.com
Apr 01
Jobelle B-2, b-2 spirit, B-2 Spirit bomber, F-22, f-22 raptor, F-35, f-35 joint strike fighter, Global Hawk, MADL, Multifunction Advanced Datalink, Norton Schwartz, Operation Odyssey Dawn, raptor, RQ-4, rq-4 Global Hawk
In the middle of all issues facing the F-22s today, Air Force leaders tell lawmakers that the F-22 Raptor will not be receiving the same data link being developed for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The service had been looking at integrating the Multifunction Advanced Datalink (MADL) onto the F-22, F-35 and B-2 Spirit bombers in an effort to give all stealth jets a secure way of communicating. But according to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, the system is not “mature” enough to be installed on the Raptor without incurring too much risk.
“We should let the F-35 development effort mature before tacking it onto the F-22, this was a cost and a risk calculation on our part,” the four-star told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee today.
He went on to say that the jet “can communicate” with older fighters using Link-16 via something called BACN, a version of which can translate info from the Raptor’s Intra-flight Data Link to Link-16 format; allowing it to communicate with older fighters.
BACN has been critical in aiding communications in the skies over Afghanistan where it’s been mounted on everything from a Block 20 RQ-4 Global Hawk to business jets.
The way Schwartz described it, anytime the F-22 would deploy with other fighters, it would need a RQ-4 Global Hawk drone equipped with BACN to be loitering nearby.
While the Air Force insists the jet wasn’t used in Libya because it is based too far from the fight, some speculate that its inability to communicate with other fighters is the real reason it was left out of Operation Odyssey Dawn.
- Source: DOD BUZZ
Mar 24
JobelleAir Force Air Force F22, B-2 bomber, b-2 spirit, B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, F-22, F-22 aircraft, F22 limitations, Libya, Libya operation, Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, Raptor F-22, Raptor plane, stealth bomber
One aircraft whose absence is noticeable over the skies of Libya is the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter. Analysts said the Raptor was likely excluded due to its inability to communicate with other coalition aircraft and its limited ability to hit ground targets.
“The designers of the F-22 had a dilemma, which is whether to have the connectivity that would allow versatility or to have the radio silence that would facilitate stealthiness. What they opted for was a limited set of tactical data links,” said Loren Thompson, an analyst and chief operating office at the Lexington Institute, Arlington Va.
On of the F-22’s limitation is it can only connect with other F-22s via an intra-flight data link, and can only receive, but not transmit, over the standard Link-16 data link found on most allied aircraft. Radio emissions from various data links could potentially give away the aircraft’s position. For that reason, while the Raptor is the stealthiest operational aircraft in the world, it lacks much of the connectivity found on other warplanes.
The aircraft also lacks a significant air-to-surface punch.
The F-22 aircraft can only use two 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which are GPS-guided bombs, against fixed targets. It does not yet have the ability to carry the 250-pound Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) or to create synthetic aperture radar maps, which are black and white photo-quality images of the Earth’s surface, needed to select its own ground targets.
Under the Air Force’s global strike task force doctrine, the Raptor would normally escort B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. However, U.S. Africa Command, which is running Operation Odyssey Dawn, confirmed the F-22 has not flown over Libya.
“I see no indication that F-22s were used as an escort for the B-2 nor do I see anything that indicates the Raptor will be used in future missions over Libya,” said Air Force Maj. Eric Hilliard, a spokesman for Africa Command.
On March 20, three B-2 Spirits flew bombing runs out of their base at Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Mo., against targets in Libya.
Analysts agreed that the reason for the absence of the Raptor is that it was not needed to defeat Libya’s relatively pedestrian air defenses. The Libyans have a largely obsolete fleet of aircraft and only older model Soviet surface-to-air weaponry.
“Libya is not generally considered a highly capable adversary,” Thompson added.
- Source: AirForceTimes, photo via Google Images
Jul 14
TynibelleBlog Articles, Trivia 747-200, A380, ah-1, ah-1 cobra, ah-64, ah-64 apache, ah1, ah64, Airbus, Airbus A380, alitalia 747-200, b-2 spirit, cobra, sr-71, sr-71 blackird, sr71
AT-99 Scorpion seen in the 2009 film "Avatar"
Imagination is something everybody has. It is the very beginning of creating things. Some are carried out; some never see the light of day. Some are appreciated, some are not. And some are lived out and inspires more imaginations. Example of this is the fictional aircraft used in stories, movies, and TV programs which were born from being inspired by real aircraft.
One fictional aircraft that caught the eyes of many, from the blockbuster movie Avatar, is the AT-99 Scorpion or “Scorpion” gunship. In the movie, the Vertical and Takeoff Landing (VTOL) vehicle that escort shuttle landings and takeoff and provides air fire support for military operations. It is 12.2m in length, 3.51m in height, and 8.73m in width. It is armed with four .50 caliber guns and missiles. Like the AH-1 Cobra, the Scorpion gunship is light, maneuverable, and an adaptable platform. It is also similar to heavily-armored VTOL weapons platform like the Mi-28 Havoc and AH-64 Apache.
Another fictional aircraft is the Blackbird or X-jet from X-men. It first looked like a modified version of the Lockheed SR-71 but some writers referred that the design as the “SR-73” or “SR-77.” It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times so it differs in specifications from time to time. It has been featured to have sported holographic active camouflage and hypersonic speed engines. But in Ultimate X-men, there seems to be a number of aircraft the superhero team used. One resembled the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
Also a fictional aircraft is the Elgin E-474 from the movie Flight Plan. In the movie, the aircraft was helped designed by Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster), the protagonist. The E-474’s interior and design is very much alike to the Airbus A380. In reality, the avionics bay was from an Alitalia 747-200.
-wikipedia.org
-youtube.com
-marvel.wikia.com
- james-camerons-avatar.wikia.com
Oct 23
NinaBlog Articles b-2 spirit, b-2 spirit model airplane, b-2 spirit model plane, b2 spirit, Northrop Grumman B-2 Stealth Bomber
The nation’s fleet of B-2 spirit stealth bombers will all get a new Northrop Grumman Corporation-developed radar system following the U.S. Air Force’s decision to authorize full-rate production of the units by the company’s Radar Modernization Program (RMP).
The decision, made last Oct. 16 by the assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition (acting), allows Northrop Grumman to begin fabrication of the balance of radar units needed to outfit the entire fleet. Those units will be produced as the final installment of the $468 million RMP contract awarded to the company by the Air Force in Dec. 2008.
Northrop Grumman is the Air Force’s prime contractor for the B-2, the flagship of the nation’s long range arsenal, and one of the most survivable aircraft in the world. Northrop Grumman is currently producing radar units authorized under the RMP low rate initial production program, added Mazur. The company is also installing radar units in operational B-2s as part of the RMP system development and demonstration phase.
The B-2 radar modernization program replaces the aircraft’s original radar system with one that incorporates technology improvements that have occurred since the B-2 was originally designed in the early 1980s.
The B-2 is the only U.S. aircraft that combines stealth, long range, large payload and precision weapons in a single platform. In concert with the Air Force’s air superiorityfleet, which provides airspace control, and the Air Force’s tanker fleet , which enables global mobility, the B-2 helps ensure an effective U.S. response to threats anywhere in the world. It can fly more than 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled and more than 10,000 nautical miles with just one aerial refueling, giving it the ability to reach any point on the globe within hours.
The 20-aircraft fleet of B-2s is operated by the 509th Bomb Wing from its headquarters at Whiteman AFB, Mo.
RSS
