Is This the Future of General Aviation?
A consortium of European designers and companies are working on a radical redefinition of what a general aviation aircraft is. Modeled after a tuna, the SmartFish flies without slats, spoilers or flaps.
The SmartFish project intends to create a totally new kind of airplane type that can be used for everything from light sport aircraft to business jets to commercial puddle jumpers that carry up to 20 passengers. The goals include fuel economy, safety, visual beauty and a minimization of moving parts. Who's involved? According to the SmartFish web site:
The SmartFish proof of concept will be realized in collaboration with following companies: Extra (world leader in aerobatic aircraft) for system integration and test flights, Leichtwerk for interpretation statics and dynamics, LTB Borowski for composite manufacturing, Liebherr Aerospace for Landing Gear System development, DLR (German Aerospace Center) for flutter analysis and inlet optimization, RUAG Aerospace for wind tunnel testing, and EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (they did a great job for Alinghi) for overall design optimization.The group even has a working prototype. They're also working on a fuel-cell version.
posted by Mike at 7:52 AM
23 Comments:
crazy sci-fi shit
Um, how would a fuel-cell power a jet?
Thats what a tuna looks like?
Wondering why the aircraft industry had not innovated their design for such a long time. This will open the door for more weird-ass designs, which is what we need!
love your neighbot
http://www.celebrityprankcalling.com is more fun and interesting
So this is where the children of the Third Reich have gone?
Sorry, the names of these companies all remind me of V1 and V2 bombs and manufacturers of gas ovens.
Germanic Jah. European Nein
"Um, how would a fuel-cell power a jet?"
This thing runs on a hydrogen fuel compressed in a tank. Fuel cells produce hydrogen, so rather than the tank, this thing would run off the cells.
"Fuel cells produce hydrogen, so rather than the tank, this thing would run off the cells."
A fuel cell combines hydrogen with oxygen to produce water and electricity. The only purpose of the fuel cell would be to provide electrical power to the plane.
i'm never eating tuna again
doesn't pass the b-s test... real airplane announcements include major system suppliers (engine, avionics) plus describe funding... this just seems like a euro-club to keep euro-scientists employed... have fun though !
Working prototype? Does that mean the motor/engine runs or the thing actually flies?
How does the thing fly with no apparent control surfaces, just by throttle?
Sounds "fishy".
impresionante. Me parece impresionante, pero no creo que llegue a volar nunca. Parece un prototipo.
Right. Not much wing & heavy hydrogen tanks & fuel cells for power - sounds like a teen-dream gone mad. It takes a bit more skill than drawing sexy curves and quoting buzzwords to design an aircraft.
aeroplane
whilst it Is nice to see some form of R&D going into general aviation, it is not going to do anyone much good if the resulting aircraft costs $500.000 + and comes over the fence at 80kts!!!!!
What we need is an aircraft that will take 4 pax + bags & 5 hours fuel, cruse @ 200kts 65% power and land @ 55kts, modern aerodynamics make all of the above possible with less than a 200hp engine and the cost would be no more than $150.000, but don't hold your breath. the major manufacturers are quite happy to sell you 1950s designs as long as mugs buy them.
no se traigalon asia otros paises
Looks like a manta-ray...
You could wait for something like this to maybe, possibly, someday almost actually fly...or you could just do what I did and by a Liberty XL2. http://www.libertyaircraft.com
Doesn't cost millions and it is a blast to fly!
Very interesting and well-written
It looked like aviation was heading more to the microjets like the new Hondajet -- and the air taxi service with more beusiess travelers looking to avoid airlines. I think the real future of air travel is tird to he internet. Let's find a way to connect small groups of people who need to fly and allow them to jointly book a corporate jet.
Looks a bit like the Javelin personal jet. We want one for our birthday.
Good design, I admit...but probably a looong time away from realization. And on top of this: Hydrogen generation needs vast amounts of energy. So depending on how thsi energy is produced its not 'vlean' or 'green' at all.
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