>>Flashing across California desert skies, the airplanes you see
here are writing new chapters in the story of man made flight....there she goes!
>>This is my first opportunity to greet you as deputy administrator
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
>>Together, you and I must make our new agency
>>A most unusual place
>>An organization that can challenge conventional wisdom.
>>We can engineer anything we can write the requirements for.
>>We're going to make your idea work.
This particular idea is quite disruptive.
>>A typical flight, of course, starts under the wing of the B-52 mothership.
>>This sleek, high speed machine would have made Rube Goldberg proud.
>>The manner in which we fly reentry from space,
on the space shuttle was pioneered on the X-15.
>>The X-31 pretty much wrote the book on thurst vectoring, along with its sister program, the F-18 HARV.
>>An observation of an occulation is
one of the more challenging missions that SOFIA can do.
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>>Right now, we are looking at the dawn of a new era of aviation.
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>>Can we get a fuel call?
>>5.4...
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>>Pollution was always something we saw close up or not at all,
until the National Aeronautics and Space Administration gave us a global view
from high above.
>>As the world's population continues to grow,
our need to use our natural resources wisely becomes more apparent and urgent.
>>We're in an energy crisis now and will be for some time to come.
>>Attention all passengers, flight 307 is cancelled until further notice.
>>We must change if we're going to have the energy we need
>>Until very recently,
the priorities of aviation science have remained unchanged.
Only in the 1970s have the need for greater efficiency of men and machines
led to new and revised priorities for aviation researchers.
>>A new airfoil shape called the supercritical wing is being flight
tested aboard an extensively modified F-8 jet aircraft.
Almost the direct opposite of conventional air foil shapes,
the supercritical wing has a flattened top surface-
>>The new shape weakens the shockwave that normally builds on top
of conventional wings during flight,
>>allowing the aircraft to fly faster,
more smoothly and at lower operating costs.
>>And that concept ended up making a significant contribution
the supercritical wings are today used on almost every transport that’s manufactured.
>>We had the supercricial wing F-111, which did supercritical wing demonstration.
>>The wings may be
adjusted to various angles to achieve optimum performance at different speeds.
>>Studies indicate that if the design features of the oblique wing were applied
to full size jets, it would give them increased fuel economy.
>>The piloted version is now being built.
>>The AD-1:
During takeoff and landing,
the wing can be positioned at right angles to the body for maximum lift.
But as the aircraft picks up speed,
the wing can be pivoted to cut down drag
and therefore fuel usage.
[Music/Airplane flying]
Another project geared to improve aerodynamic efficiency was winglets
engineers modified this KC-135 transport
by mounting vertical extensions on its wingtips.
>>These winglets act to increase lift and lower drag.
>>Winglets cut wind resistance.
NASA's scientists developed the advanced winglet technology to cut wing drag,
thereby increasing air speed and cutting fuel consumption.
>>Dryden researchers are using an F-111 to study ways of developing
more efficient wing shapes. In the natural laminar flow experiment,
they modified the plane’s outer wing panels.
This new wing shape eliminated turbulent air flow over much of the wing surface.
>>For functional versatility,
one of the most promising ideas tested here is the tilt rotor.
>>The XV-15 research aircraft combines the vertical take off capability
of the helicopter with the speed, range and fuel economy of a turboprop airplane.
These types of aircraft use less room for takeoff and landing
and keep noise and air pollution lower than our present commercial planes.
[Truck driving]
>With the continuing fuel problems,
engineers are attempting to make the big trucks more efficient.
It's believed that both trucks and recreational vehicles can be made more
economical to operate.
>>Means of achieving aerodynamic efficiency on aircraft
isn't that different than it is on automobiles and trucks.
>>Starting with a small delivery van, Ed Saltzman and his team of engineers
reshaped the vehicle with sheet metal.
>>The aerodynamic improvements that we've experienced so far
are translatable into 15%, perhaps 20%, savings in fuel.
>>The researchers are hopeful as they continue to apply aerodynamic
techniques to help solve a ground transportation problem.
>>During the 1970s
in the aviation field, fuel rose from the least expensive
operating costs for commercial airlines to the most expensive.
By 1979, the cost of fuel quadrupled.
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>>A digital fly-by-wire flight control system
crucial to automation of the X-Wing’s flight mode, conversion and circulation
control aerodynamics has reached the laboratory test phase.
>>Has the dream of combining the best attributes of both helicopter and airplane been realized?
>>The X-Wing system will begin flight tests later
this year to investigate advanced rotor concepts.
Its broad range of mission capabilities capitalize on its ability
to combine the unique hovering qualities of a helicopter
with the high cruise speed and range of an airplane.
>>The F-14 variable-sweep transition flight experiment
was originated to obtain accurate in-flight measurements of the boundary
layer transition location for wing airfoil pressure gradients,
the wing panels of the F-14 were modified to maintain laminar
flow to a significant extent.
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>>Because of the energy crisis, I was working on the Jetstar,
we took the wing tanks off the Jetstar and we put an experiment
for laminar flow control, this was like subsonic laminar flow control.
>>Birds change the shape of their wings according to various flight conditions,
>>The ideal wing would have a smooth contour, upper surface
and be able to rapidly and precisely change its shape to provide
minimum drag for the amount of lift being commanded by the pilot.
The Wright brothers and their Wright Flier also used wing warping,
so the idea is not new, it's just that the technology
has now developed to the point where it is practical.
>>This is the Mission Adaptive Wing.
This flexibility is possible because we now have composite materials
that will withstand nearly continuous bending without fatiguing
and lightweight digital computers that can operate at speeds
sufficient to control the wing.
Through in-flight contour changes,
internal mechanisms bend flexible leading and trailing edge surfaces
to the appropriate curvatures required to maintain
the optimal aerodynamic effectiveness at all times.
The Mission Adaptive Wing:
An attractive technology for future military aircraft.
>>It's really the first time that a wing could actually provide
optimum performance throughout a very large part of the flight envelope.
>>The C-140 Jetstar currently is test flying an advanced propeller model,
which should lead to considerable fuel savings in future aircraft.
>>Basically, a forward-swept wing design is potentially more efficient
in the transonic speed regime.
The forward-swept wing has a supercritical cross-section
about one third the thickness of a typical supercritical wing...a discreet
variable camber device is installed on the trailing edge of the wing.
Set back on the fuselage, the forward-swept wing
configuration also affords a more flexible payload distribution,
which makes for a smaller, lighter aircraft.
Tactically tougher to see.
Economically less costly to build, operate and support.
[Music/F-16s taking off]
>>The F-16 XL aircraft
is uniquely characterized by its large cranked arrow wing.
The aircraft can be used by NASA as testbeds to evaluate aerodynamic
concepts designed to improve wing airflow during sustained supersonic flight.
>>We know that we can get laminar flow an inch or so back.
Now we're trying to maintain it
further aft, and in order to maintain the laminar flow further aft, we have to
come up with some method of augmentation and that's why we're using
suction, to actually pull the boundary layer back down and
re-laminarize the boundary layer.
>>We’ve actually perforated the surface of the wing
with millions of microscopic holes,
and we suck a portion of the airflow away from the wing to help keep it stable.
>>If you maintain laminar flow for a larger distance,
you can reduce the drag of an air foil.
If you can reduce the drag, you can increase your fuel efficiency.
If you can increase your fuel efficiency, you can increase your payload capability.
And you know, it's just a whole raft of things
that come out of being able to maintain laminar flow.
>>Ailerons are normally used
to roll the aircraft, which is then used to turn the aircraft.
We intend to use only
the outboard ailerons and move them together, both up or both down
to change the tailoring of the wings so as to optimize the flow characteristics.
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>>I can deflect the inboard section
downwards while deflecting the outward section upwards.
This will create an unbalanced force on the wing, thereby
twisting the structure in a new way- different than we've seen before.
>>These morphing structures of the future are likely going to be able
to sense the environment and adapt, change their shape
to particular flight conditions.
>>The designer will be able to take material out,
make the wing thinner , and it makes it a more efficient wing.
>>This is a project that's trying to see
if there's an advantage to flying two or more aircraft in formation,
much like flocks of birds.
>>Every wing creates a wingtip vortex.
And if you can put your airplane on the part that's going up,
then it's just like riding a wave at the beach.
>>The lead aircraft signals its position to the follower with a wireless modem.
You couldn't do this without fly-by-wire.
The vortex can be so strong
that a conventional flight control system, it'll flip you out.
>>But it's a high energy source, and if we can properly map
it and know where it is
and then use that energy to our advantage...
>>We're expecting to extract out
a 10% drag reduction, at least a 10% drag reduction...
>>It's one of the first times that this has ever been tried with a civilian airplane.
>>What we wanted to expand was to use production
autopilots, the FAA mandated data link...
>>Let's go ahead and try to step in
toward the wake...
>>...ways that you can improve the efficiency of vehicles
by not changing the vehicles at all,
but by changing how we use them, or operational efficiencies.
Even if you didn't
want to fly in the wake, if you wanted to, for instance, avoid the wake,
you could still fly closer than what is currently allowed.
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>>BWB is a combination between a regular aircraft and a flying wing
>>It actually has a lower drag than a conventional aircraft.
>>It's like a hybrid car compared to a regular car.
You're getting 20 to 30% better fuel efficiency.
>>By understanding boundary layer transition, we can increase our understanding
and our predictive capability
for all types of aircraft, both for civil and for military aircraft.
>>People take it for granted nowadays that an airplane needs a rudder
in order to turn. Think of every bird you've ever seen.
None of them have rudders.
The PRANDTL-D aircraft is designed with a certain twist in its wing...
>>...a different lift distribution,
>>... a new span load on the wings.
>>What we're really looking for is the positive correlation
between roll and yaw.
>>PRANDTL does not need winglets,
It does not need a vertical tail...
>>...and there's only two control surfaces.
The design of PRANDTL minimizes drag.
>>This doesn't have any hinges.
It just bends. It morphs itself, if you will, sort of like a bird flies.
>>The efficiency of this technology is very significant,
and it results in a fuel savings up
to hundreds of millions of dollars of fuel savings a year.
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>>A traditional wing has one flap and one aileron per wing.
We broke those up into segments and that allows us to reshape the load
using localized input or small inputs rather than the whole control surface.
>>We'd like to develop some research that can be used to minimize the amount
that structures deflect, minimize the amount that structures vibrate.
>>It's in an attempt to redistribute the load into a more favorable configuration.
That configuration will allow for lighter weight structures in the future.
>>The first step towards wing
shape control is knowing what the position of that wing is
so that can be fed into a control system to then control the shape.
>>Conventional sensor technology allows you to make a measurement every several feet.
The FOSS technology
allows you to have a sensor every quarter inch along a single optical fiber
that allows you to look more and more like a biological system. If you can save
a few pounds of instrumentation mass or lead wire mass,
that's more fuel and less cost.
That fiber can remain on the vehicle throughout its life.
>>Now, aircraft are taken out of service and maintenance inspections are being
applied to that at given intervals.
Wouldn't it be better to take an aircraft out of service
when your management computer has told you that it's time for service, and here’s why?
The FOSS is capable of measuring critical parameters
such as temperature, strain, liquid level, loads and deflection,
>>I believe can really revolutionize the way we do our business in aerospace.
And it has that spillover effect that can go into other types of industries
like oil and gas, ship building and health monitoring, high rise
health monitoring , all types of other applications.
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