On Tuesday, January 14, 2014 10:44:05 AM UTC+13, Rick Jones wrote:
William Mook wrote:
This is an interesting document;
http://www.foia.af.mil/shared/media/...090218-169.pdf
Isn't that the failed Avrocar?
rick jones
Aircraft 9532
Power Plant 10450
Cockpit 1060
Total Empty 21050
Fuel 7750
Crew 200
Total 29000
With today's materials and power plants these weights may be cut by half, l=
eaving a 10,000 pound payload in this same airframe. The fuel contains 19.=
45 MJ/lb. Thus 7750 lbs contains 150.8 GJ of energy. Replacing the JetA f=
uel with liquid hydrogen which contains 64.45 MJ/lb reduces that weight by =
5410 lbs to 2340 lbs. At 0.56 lbs per gallon this increases the volume of =
the fuel tank to 4,179 gallons from 1,142 gallons. So, even allowing for i=
ncreased fuel tank volume and mass, total payload is further increased to 1=
5,000 lbs. =20
The range is intercontinental at 4,000 mph (3,470 knots) at 90,000 ft. =20
Compare this to a Learjet 60
Crew: 2
Capacity: 8 passengers
Length: 58 ft 8 in (17.88 m)
Wingspan: 43 ft 9 in (13.34 m)
Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
Wing area: 264.5 ft=B2 (24.57 m=B2)
Empty weight: 14,640 lb (6,641 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 23,500 lb (10,660 kg)
Powerplant: 2 =D7 Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305A turbofan, 4,600 lbf (20=
.46 kN) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 522 mph (453 knots, 839 km/h) (max cruise)
Cruise speed: 484 mph (Fast Cruise 536 mph) (420 knots, 778 km/h, Mach =
0.74) (long-range cruise)
Range: 2,773 mi (2,409 nmi, 4,461 km)
Service ceiling: 51,000 ft (15,545 m)
Rate of climb: 4,500 ft/min (22.9 m/s)
Ten captain's chairs, facing outward, spaced around an 8 foot diameter circ=
le, providing seating. Retractable canopies over each seat provides direct=
access to the outside, over the radial wing, which extends to form the dis=
k shown in the document. The cabin is 5.7 feet tall. There is an 8 foot h=
emisphere atop a 5.7 foot tall cylinder and another 8 foot hemisphere below=
- to create a tank containing the liquid hydrogen. Smaller more efficient=
turbo jets in larger number provide power around the rim of the radial win=
g.
Two of the ten seats are equipped with flight controls and a heads up displ=
ay on the canopy.
--
No need to believe in either side, or any side. There is no cause.
There's only yourself. The belief is in your own precision. - Joubert
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway... 
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...
No, its the secret program that was denied by the USAF until declassified last year.
The 'failed' VZ-9AV was an 18 foot disk that had a central lifting fan powered by 3 Continental J-69-T9 turbojets at 660 lbs each.
This vehicle was unstable out of ground-effect and lacked positive control in wind tunnel tests done by the USAF at Wright Pat and NASA Moffett Field.
There apparently was a 33 ft diameter version with 120 peripheral nozzle assemblies located around the rim of the disk for attitude control propelled by four Armstrong Siddeley Viper 8 jet engines.
There was also a 40 ft diameter version with similar arrangement of peripheral nozzles optimized for thrust at high speeds with eight Viper 8 jets.
This was part of the System 606A program for the PV70H aircraft, according to the report.
These configurations were tested in both supersonic and subsonic wind tunnels and found to be highly controllable and capable of smooth transitions from vertical to horizontal flight. They also tested ramjet operation and a radial afterburner capability to improve thrust.
http://www.secretsdeclassified.af.mi...121113-019.pdf
I'm looking at making a small drone version of this aircraft powered by a collection of small jet engines -
http://www.jetjoe.com/main.php
Each drone engine is 2 inches in diameter 5.2 inches long, weighs half a pound and produces 3.5 pounds of thrust. Four of these operate a drone that's 52 inches in diameter and weighs 37.6 pounds at take off.
The original was powered by four, six or eight Viper 8 engines that were 25 inches long and 64 inches in length, weighs 549 lbs and produces 2700 lbs thrust, within airframes that ranged from 33 ft to 40 ft in diameter and massed up to 29,000 lbs at take off.
* * *
An electric version is possible - which has been worked out in great detail....
http://acl.mit.edu/papers/Cutler_Masters12.pdf
The trajectory control described starting on page 54 using four rotors with four electric motors (two CW, two CCW turning) of this thesis, is easily adapted to a four jet system with rim mounted nozzles.
Another possibility is to use the exhaust of the tiny JetJoe engine to propel a tip jet rotor, to multiply thrust, creating a thermal engine driven quad rotor. The rotor is supported by a film of compressed air or magnetic bearing, or a combination of both.
With an Arcam 3D printer I'm thinking of making tiny lightweight tip jet rotor blades that travel along a magnetic or compressed air track at the rim of a disk shaped aircraft. Here the tiny jet engines blow their exhaust into hollow rotor blades affixed to the track which is exhausted at the tip of the blades. Two trains of blades, one CW the other CCW rotate around the rim of the aircraft. Shutters direct the flow of air produced by rotors to direct it in flight.
http://www.tecaeromex.com/ingles/RH-i.htm
Another possibility is to use hydrogen peroxide in a tip-rotor arrangement to produce a disk type lifting craft.
Here's a tip rotor with an electric blower, made of plastic parts 3D printed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSZqFoOiyF4
Here's a 1955 technical summary of a similar concept
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRrYdIqrnWY
and of course, little henry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs7WlNrHRmA
A tip jet driven quad rotor with the exhaust of the tiny engine blown through the center of each of four rotors, would provide substantial capacity. If one thinks of a disk shaped airframe made of foamed composite - as a duct for a ducted fan, with nozzles...
this is what I'm thinking. Instead of a single rotor at the center of a disk, I'm thinking of four rotors, driven tip jet fashion, encased in a duct at each 'corner' or quadrant of the disk airframe. An intake near the center of the airframe feeds the encased rotors, and a fan exhaust near the rim of the airframe bleeds the encased rotors.
This is what I'm thinking.
The 3.5 lb x 4 = 14 lb total thrust with a 12 to 1 multiplier with the tip jet rotor (as in Little Henry's case 600 lbs lift with two 10 lb motors that produce 25 lbs each) - achieving the same leverage with a quadrotor system (encased inside a disk airframe) produces 168 lbs lift - with the tiny JoeJet
Here's a five stage turbojet engine from the Bladon Brothers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFnZJeHc-KY
This one is 4.5 inches in diameter 12 inches long and produces 100 lbs of thrust - so four of these produce 400 lbs of static thrust, and when multiplied by tip jet driven rotors in a quad rotor type arrangement - produce 4,800 lbs of total lift. So, a four passenger 2,400 lb vehicle, is possible with two gee take off thrust - straight up - and speeds up to 580 mph should be possible. With VTOL capabilities, this is awesome!
Four passenger centrally mounted seats with iPad touchscreen controls that use GPS and Google Earth to guide the aircraft point to point autonomously. A typical helicopter control system is also provided for manual control.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NevgqMqWf5Y