Pentagon’s Flying Car Program Takes Off

[buglerbilly]

Pentagon’s Flying Car Program Takes Off

By Katie Drummond April 14, 2010 | 11:45 am



The Pentagon’s far-out research agency has unveiled more details of their plan to create a shape-shifting, multipurpose car.

Flying cars have been tried before, dozens of times. And a few of the efforts have even succeeded. But the Pentagon concept is several steps ahead of existing vehicles, like the Terrafugia Transition, which is more like a lightweight plane that can, by folding up its wings, operate on land. The Transition also needs runways for takeoff and landing, and can’t fly in harsh weather.

And, in what could either mean revolutionary progress or massive failure, this initiative has out-there military agency Darpa behind it. In January, the agency, who has been toying with the flying car idea since at least 2008, hosted a proposer’s day workshop for their new Transformer (TX) project. At the time, details were sketchy: Darpa wanted a “morphing vehicle body” that could operate largely autonomously, reducing the chance of human piloting error in high-risk war zones. Plus, the agency’s initial documents noted, a hovering car would be able to cruise over obstacles and avoid areas rife with IEDs.

Now, Darpa’s released a solicitation calling for prototypes, which they want to be testing in the air by 2015. The vehicles, which will have the all-terrain abilities of SUVs, should also boast a 1,000-pound capacity, and carry four fully suited troops or a stretcher and a medic — suggesting the agency hopes for a fleet of flying ambulances, too.

Darpa also wants a vehicle that can perform vertical takeoffs and landings (no runway required), and attain an altitude of 10,000 feet — and do it all while traveling 250 miles on a single tank of gas. That means less Humvee, more Prius: The agency suggests that proposals would be wise to include ideas like “hybrid electric drive, advanced batteries, adaptive wing structures, ducted-fan propulsion systems [and] advanced lightweight heavy fuel engines.”

All that, and no pilot: Any troop able to drive a military road vehicle could operate a Transformer, because the vehicles will include “automated takeoff and landing,” and be “fully autonomous” in the air and on the ground.

It’s a lofty plan, albeit one with a relatively small budget: Darpa’s allotting around $55 million to the development and testing of prototypes.

Photo: U.S Air Force

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/pentagons-flying-car-program-takes-off/#more-23681#ixzz0l7nFIlox

[buglerbilly]

Dodge Roadside Bombs in a — Wait For It — Flying Car

By Spencer Ackerman July 1, 2010 | 4:44 pm



Big military problem: Unfriendly forces hide bombs in the roads of Afghanistan, Iraq and, inevitably, future war zones. What to do about it? Well, obviously: Hit a button on the back of a steering wheel and vertically lift your vehicle off the road, into the sky, and out of the range of an improvised explosive device. Why didn’t the big brains at the Pentagon’s anti-roadside bomb squad think of that?

Probably because flying cars are the El Dorado of geekery: promised to us, like jetpacks, only to remain the elusive bounty of a cruel, ever-distant future. (Except for the Terrafugia Transition, that is.)

But a small new company called Logi AeroSpace thinks it can take us to the promised land. Meet the Tyrannos, a four-wheeled car that relies on four small rotary wings for its vertical lift and sounds like a herald of Galactus.

Larry Ortega, the Nebraska company’s CEO and a retired Air Force major, doesn’t have a prototype yet. But he’s got something he calls “shrouded propeller” technology. His partner and chief engineer, Californian Robert Bulaga of Trek Aerospace — part owner of Logi, a company that Bulaga and Ortega started just for the Tyrannos project — “invented a way to twist a wing into a circle around propellers,” he says, allowing more lift capability using “half the propeller area of anyone else.”

Um, OK. How exactly they’ve shaped the shrouds around the propellers is a “trade secret,” Ortega confides, but it sounds kind of like a ducted fan, like you’d see in a hovercraft.

Of course, the Tyrannos looks a bit like the Fantasti-car during the present design phase. But the whole idea is that it should be practical. Ortega aims to build the Tyrannos “the size of an SUV” so it can seat four and fit in your garage. Well, if you take the wings and the tailboom off, as Ortega intends.

And that also means that if you can drive a car, you can fly one. “We want to eliminate all that training” for pilots, Ortega says. According to the company’s specs, a driver will see a simulated “highway” on the windshield, complete with virtual road simulations indicating direction.

Press an “Up” paddle on the back of the wheel and the Tyrannos “literally starts climbing in the air,” Ortega says. “You see that road” — simulated on the windshield — “start to lift up” and so you follow it, using the pedals and the steering wheel, as if in an arcade racing game, to stay on course.

You’re not supposed to be flying very high: 200 to 500 feet, optimally — “maybe 1,000,” Ortega says. (The twin towers of World Trade Center, RIP, were somewhat under 1,400 feet, to give some perspective.) It’s a car, after all, designed to weigh about 1,800 pounds with a payload of 1,100 extra pounds so it can take off from a rest position.

Run it down an 180-foot track before it takes off, and you can add about 750 more pounds on board. That should be enough for four soldiers or marines and their gear. Accordingly, its lightness means it’s going to have survivability issues.

So imagine being in a tactical situation — some kind of combat scenario — and flipping a switch, and your car just shoots up in the air like a rotary-wing version of the A-Team van. You dodge the IED that’s trying to disable your vehicle.

But you’re going to need a member of your unit to fire his or her rifle at the bad guys, because the Tyrannos isn’t going to have a gun mounted on it. What’s more, Ortega intends to build it to be “survivable for bullets,” with “as much protection as Army helmets.” In other words, fire a rocket-propelled grenade at it, and it’s a futuristic flying casket.

But it’s not reporters that Ortega has to convince. It’s Darpa, the Pentagon’s mad-science division. In April, as Danger Room’s Katie Drummond reported, Darpa put out a way-ambitious request for proposals for what it called its Transformer (TX) program, basically inviting engineers to dream up a flying car again. Or, as Darpa put it, give the military an “unprecedented capability to avoid traditional and asymmetrical threats while avoiding road obstructions” through vertical takeoff and landing.

Truly more than meets the eye, and worth about $54 million total, split between a few companies. Logi AeroSpace pitched the Tyrannos about a month ago.

If Darpa thinks the tech checks out and the company’s bid makes sense, then it’ll release the cash to let Logi AeroSpace manufacture a prototype. Ortega estimates it’ll take up to two years to build the mostly electric car — yes, the flying car is going to be green — and its navigation system. (Realistically, pending some due diligence, trade studies and analyses that are part of the contracting process, it’s about four years away.)

If it works, the civilian applications are obvious. “You finally get your flying cars,” Ortega forecasts. “And I mean truly flying cars. I don’t mean cars you have to drive to the airport to take off.” Take that, Terrafugia Transition.

Photo: Logi AeroSpace

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/dodge-roadside-bombs-in-wait-for-it-a-flying-car/#more-26891#ixzz0sUUqvUEv

[buglerbilly]

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Ducted-fan Flying Humvee Unveiled

Posted by Graham Warwick at 7/6/2010 10:35 AM CDT

The first bidder for DARPA's Transformer (TX) "flying Humvee" program to break cover is Logi AeroSpace, which describes itself as "a prototype shop" that has built a dozen or so flying vehicles, some of them manned. The name is not familiar to me, but their partners in the TX bid are: ducted-fan VTOL developer Trek Aerospace, electric car manufacturer Zap, and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). Together they are proposing the Tyrannos AT-TV.


All concepts: Logi AeroSpace

The Tyrannos is a four-seat vertical take-off and landing roadable aircraft powered by a supercharged racing engine driving a generator and a battery pack. These drive electric motors on the wheels for road use and four variable-pitch shrouded propellers for flight. On the road, the wings fold back against the tail booms. The ducted prop in the nose is fixed at -12deg incidence while the other three pivot from horizontal for vertical flight to vertical for forward flight.



Claimed performance for the Tyrannos includes a 50kt cruise speed on the ground and 135kt in the air, with battery-limited dash speeds of 90kt and 210kt, respectively. Fuel consumption is 37nm/gal on the road and 17nm/gal in the air, giving a range of 590nm and 250nm, respectively. Hover altitude is 10,000ft, says Logi. The vehicle is carbonfiber, but weighs in at 3,000lb for a vertical take-off with a 1,100lb payload, and 3,750lb for a short (180ft) take-off with a 1,850lb payload.



Logi says the Tyrannos is designed for non-pilots, with an autopilot performing automatic vertical take-off and landing and cruise along predetermined routes. The driver can override the autopilot and change route, altitude or speed using controls similar to those in an SUV - wheel, pedals and cruise control. If a ducted fan fails, the pair on the alternate axis can provide all the lift, says Logi, each of the motors providing up to 175hp in an emergency.

DARPA's missions for TX include ship-to-shore operations for Marine patrols, flying over IED zones, resupplying remote sites and medavac. After all my years as an aerospace journalist I should be far too jaded and sceptical, but looking at the Tyrannos I find myself thinking...hoping?...that this might actually work.

[buglerbilly]

And we have another............:dunno

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Flying Humvees - Another One

Posted by Graham Warwick at 7/12/2010 2:34 PM CDT

AVX Aircraft - the Texas start-up company proposing to refit OH-58 Kiowa Warriors with coaxial rotors and ducted fans to meet the US Army's Armed Aerial Scout requirement - is bidding to build a tactical vehicle that can drive and fly under DARPA's Transformer (TX) program.


Concept: AVX

Not surprisingly, AVX's design has coaxial rotors and ducted fans. The Fort Worth-based company says the four-seat vehicle will carry a 1,040lb payload, reach 80mph on the road (using the ducted fans to augment electric wheel drive) and 140mph in the air, take off and land vertically, cruise at 10,000ft altitude at max gross weight and travel 250 miles on one tank of fuel.


Concept: AVX

Conversion from road to flight mode will take 60 seconds, says AVX - basically unfolding the rotor blades. The design certainly looks simpler than Logi AeroSpace's Tyrannos, which has a foldable wing and tilting shrouded propellers. But whether either design can be light enough to fly and robust enough to be a practical military vehicle is the question.

[buglerbilly]

A bit more on this...........

DATE:13/07/10

SOURCE:Flight International

AVX offers high-speed rotor system to DARPA for flying jeep

By Stephen Trimble

Texas-based start-up AVX Corp. has adapted a concept for a compound, coaxial rotor system unveiled three months ago to a new application for a flying jeep.

The company founded by mainly former Bell Helicopter engineers submitted the "tactical fly-drive vehicle" concept to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The proposal is offered under DARPA's Transformer (TX) programme, which seeks to demonstrate a four-person vehicle that provides "terrain-independent mobility".

AVX claims its TX design can carry a 471kg (1,040lb) payload over 463km (250nm), fly at speeds up to 225km/hr (140mph) and drive at speeds up to 129km/hr. The vehicle can convert from road mode to flight mode in 60sec.

The aircraft concept features the distinctive rotor system that AVX originally proposed in April in a different application.

The US Army also is soliciting ideas for an Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) that may replace the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.

AVX, led by former Bell chief engineer Troy Gaffey, proposed adapting the OH-58D airframe with a coaxial rotor for lift and compound ducted fans mounted on the tail to provide forward thrust.

In both the helicopter and flying jeep application, the ducted fans can be tilted forwards to provide speed and upwards to offer additional lift. In jeep mode, the coaxial rotors are folded aft of the vehicle.

"The design is very adaptable and can be configured for many different size and types of vehicles," Gaffey says in a statement.

[buglerbilly]

Leading Edge

AW&ST On Technology

Flying Car Design Finalized

Posted by Graham Warwick at 7/26/2010 11:39 AM CDT

Terrafugia has unveiled the design of its production Transition roadable aircraft, and the result is a chunkier look that befits a vehicle that must meet both aviation and highway safety regulations.



Production (above) vs PoC (below) - all images Terrafugia



The most obvious changes from the proof-of-concept Transition are elimination of the foreplane and beefing up of the twin tail booms, while the boxier fuselage now stops at the trailing edge of the folding wing - likely to improve prop efficiency and rearward visibility on the road. The production aircraft also has a more car-like front, and motoring niceties like wing mirrors and windscreen wipers.



The two-seat Transition is powered by a 100hp Rotax engine which drives the rear wheels on the road and the pusher prop in the air. Terrafugia's new performance figures include 93kt cruise speed, 45kt stall, 1,700ft take-off distance and 425nm range. Cruise fuel burn is 5gal/hr and road mileage 35mpg. Gross take-off weight is 1,430lb which - thanks to an exemption from the FAA - still makes the Transition a light sport aircraft from a flying and licensing perspective.



The carbonfiber fuselage incorporates an energy-absorbing crush structure in the nose and a rigid safety cage. There are conventional car controls, touchscreen displays and dual centerstick flight controls. The wheels are driven via a continuously variable transmission and the electromechanical wing fold is operated from within the vehicle.



Terrafugia says deliveries are planned to begin in late 2011.

[buglerbilly]

Leading Edge

AW&ST On Technology

It's One Way to Make a Flying Car

Posted by Graham Warwick at 7/30/2010 3:33 PM CDT

Actually I like the looks of this one, looks a lot more feasible than most of the others...............

A company called Plane Driven has come up with what seems a sinple way to make a roadable aircraft. Founder Trey Johnson has mounted a drive pod under a Glasair Sportsman two-seat kitplane, to make the PD-1.


Photo: Plane Driven

As this video shows, the drive pod and wheels slide back on rails, the wings rotate back against the fuselage, the controls snap in place and the PD-1 is ready to drive on the road. The pod houses an 80hp four-stroke two-cylinder engine, with an automatic transmission that includes reverse. Main and nose wheels have disc brakes.


Video: Plane Driven

The sliding arrangement allows the pod to be on the aircraft's center of gravity in flight mode, and the wheels at the rear for driving stability in road mode. It's not exactly elegant, but looks like it works. The aircraft was unveiled at the AirVenture show in Oshkosh.

[buglerbilly]

Exclusive: Pentagon Chooses Two Companies to Build Flying Humvee

The Pentagon wants a flying car, and one seriously out-there military concept has been given the go-ahead. Here is a look at the Pentagon's next armored, armed, airborne Humvee.

By Sharon Weinberger


Will this be the U.S. military's first flying car?
DARPA

August 27, 2010 11:10 AM Text Size: A . A . A Denver—The race to build the world's first flying military jeep just moved a step closer to the finish line. The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected two companies to proceed with the next stage of its Transformer, known as TX—a fully automated four-person vehicle that can drive like a car and then take off and fly like an aircraft to avoid roadside bombs. Lockheed Martin and AAI Corp., a unit of Textron Systems, are currently in negotiations with DARPA for the first stage of the Transformer project, several industry sources told Popular Mechanics at a robotics conference here in Denver. DARPA has not announced the official winners yet.

It's unclear how many companies competed for the DARPA project, but the competition brought together an unusual mix of large defense companies with smaller aviation firms vying to build the vertical takeoff and landing craft. Perhaps most surprising—and for some competitors galling— is that DARPA selected a rotor-based aircraft for one of the two winning submissions. At an industry day held earlier this year, DARPA officials had initially said they weren't interested in a traditional rotary-wing aircraft, though they might consider a vehicle if the rotor was shrouded.

AAI's winning concept does not have a shrouded rotor, but it is also far from being a traditional helicopter. The company, which produces the Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle, is basing its proposal in part on the slowed-rotor/compound concept, a technology that uses rotor blades heavily weighted in the tips, or high inertia. The rotor provides lift on takeoff, and then as it gains speed, the rotor slows down and the wings provide lift.

Lockheed Martin has declined to detail any aspect of its submission, but those familiar with the Phantom Works project speculated that it might combine aspects of the company's Joint Tactical Light Vehicle, a follow-on to the Humvee, with a ducted fan propulsion system that it would use to fly.

The two companies are still a ways away from building flying Humvees; the first stage of the DARPA project is merely working on conceptual designs. The total funding available for Transformer is about $40 million.

Officials from both companies declined to comment on the record about the negotiations, and DARPA did not respond to request to comment.

[buglerbilly]

AND another option.......IF its like other flying wings it'll be noisy as a lawnmower on speed NOT something you want in road mode..........

Innovative Flight Solutions

September 6th, 2010

Innovative Flight Solutions (IFS) based in Virginia Beach, Virginia and is an independent developer of alternative flight solutions for use in both defense and commercial applications.



Under development for 8 years, IFS’ most recent achievement is the “Stalker” Powered Parafoil. The Stalker can be flown either manned or unmanned, from altitudes ranging 5 feet to 20,000 feet, and as slow as 17 knots or as fast at 68 knots. In addition to its airborne capabilities, in ground mode the Stalker has the capacity to transverse paved and unimproved roadways, grass fields, beach, desert and other challenging terrain. On a paved road the Stalker can reach speeds in excess of 70 mph.



The Stalker’s distinct capabilities are ideal for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) programs as well as use in border patrol, psychological operations (PSYOPS, now called Military Information Operations), and as a combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). With a standard flight time of 4.4 hours, and an optional extended fuel cell increasing its range to 19.8 hours, the Stalker can also be used for forward scouting ahead of convoys, delivery to remote terrains, medevac, sniper operations, etc. Due to its simplicity in maintenance, small storage area, and ease of flight any platoon leader or area commander can now have immediate and total control of an air asset.

Unlike fixed wing aircraft, the Stalker cannot be rolled, put into a dive, or stalled It can also handle IFR (no visibility) flight conditions. According to the FAA, the Stalker “… it [sic]one of the safest, stable and versatile aircraft in existence…” It can carry a useful payload of 747 pounds in manned flight and as a UAV has a useful payload of 1,047 pounds.

IFS works with the Aviation Sciences department at the University of Maryland to conduct its research and development while manufacturing is done by a leading defense contractor. Extensive testing has been completed in conjunction with Anti-Terrorism Force Protection exercises at eleven (11) military bases. All testing has been successful.

The Stalker will be on display at GSS Gear’s New Breed of Warrior being held September 10-11, 2010.

[buglerbilly]

DARPA Works to Develop A Flying Humvee For U.S. Troops

By JAMES K. SANBORN

Published: 18 Sep 2010 09:22

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working to develop a "flying Humvee" that could be piloted by troops with about the same amount of training it takes to drive an armored truck.


Conceptual art of a "Transformer" produced by AAI, a subsidiary of Textron Systems. (Courtesy of Textron Systems)

Called "Transformer," it would patrol on the ground, but have the ability to quickly take to the air should the going get too tough.

A working prototype could be ready by 2015. In the weeks to come, DARPA is expected to turn to several defense companies for research, and some have already created conceptual designs.

The Transformer would carry four combat-ready troops and equipment, totaling more than 1,000 pounds, according to DARPA. It would be able to fly and drive about 250 miles on a single tank and could take off and land vertically. It would also be capable of flying autonomously to a designated location.

The vehicle's designers say it could offer several key advantages with the ability to avoid improvised explosive devices, chief among them. The vehicle would allow troops to hop over roadside bombs simply by flying above them. And while the vehicle would not posses nearly the amount of armor current vehicles do since it must be light to fly, it would still offer protection against most small-arms fire.

The vehicle could also help save lives by allowing for faster casualty evacuations. Unlike helicopters which have to be dispatched from a base, Transformers could be prepositioned at frontline locations so they are ready to transport Marines in just minutes, DARPA reports.

The special operations community is also closely following the Transformer project according to Marine Corps and DARPA documents. It could be useful to resupply special operators working in remote and hostile conditions. Transformer could be loaded with supplies and flown autonomously to a landing zone, where special operators would recover the supplies and be left with a vehicle for use on their mission.

But more than just facilitating current operations, Transformer could change the way operations are conducted from the ground up. It could alter basic Marine Corps amphibious assault doctrine. Rather than lumbering to shore in amphibious assault vehicles for a frontal assault into enemy guns, flying Humvees could enable Marines to leapfrog over the shore, according to a Marine Corps presentation made in January that outlined possible uses for a flying car. Marines could move straight to their objective instead of getting bogged down on the beach and unlike helicopter insertions, they would arrive already buckled into ground transportation.

Marine officials also say they are interested in a flying car for the more immediate advances the program's research might yield.

"The idea of having a flying car is interesting, but that is kind of a gee-whiz kind of thing," said James Lasswell, head of the Office of Science and Technology at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab in Quantico, Va.

But the research could result in improvements to unmanned helicopters the Marine Corps is already developing, he said.

For example, DARPA's call for enclosed rotor blades could protect troops from rotors placed at human-height. Enclosed rotors also enhance the craft's tilt-rotor capabilities making it more maneuverable.

[buglerbilly]

AND we have a Winner...........

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

AAI Wins DARPA Flying-Jeep Study

Posted by Graham Warwick at 9/28/2010 1:10 PM CDT


Images: AAI

AAI has received a $3.05 million contract for Phase 1 of DARPA's Transformer Vehicle (TX) program to demonstrate a "fly-drive" tactical vehicle. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works is also expected to receive a contract.

DARPA wants a four-seat vehicle that will drive like an SUV, but avoid IEDs, rivers and other hazards and obstacles by converting rapidly to an aircraft, taking off vertically, cruising like a light aircraft and landing vertically - with the takeoff and landing automated so the driver does not have to be trained as a pilot.

AAI's design is based on the slowed-rotor/compound (SR/C) helicopter technology being developed jointly with Cartercopter. SR/C is essentially an autogyro in which the rotor can be slowed as forward speed increases, offloading lift to the wing to allow the vehicle to fly faster than a conventional helicopter.



In AAI's concept, the TX converts from vehicle to aircraft by raising the rotor mast, unfolding the blades and deploying the wing. The turboprop engine spools up the high-inertia rotor for a jump takeoff then drives a ducted propulsor for forward flight. Thrust deflectors, stabilators and ailerons provide flight control. On the ground, the turboprop generates electricity to drive in-wheel motors.

Takeoff and landing would be automated, using AAI's unmanned-aircraft experience. In the cruise, the driver would use the wheel, pedals and gear lever to follow "highway-in-the-sky" guidance cues.

AAI's team includes flying-car developer Terrafugia, Textron sister company Bell helicopter, Cartercopter and Textron Marine & Land Systems, which has experience developing lightweight armored vehicles.

[buglerbilly]

I love the second pic, this vehicle is a large autogyro. Now just WHERE do they think this vehicle is going to get enough speed up to transfer into autogyro mode sitting on a rocky slope! :jerkit

[Gubler, A.]

Its a compound autogyro/helicopter like the Rotordyne. The rotor is powered for takeoff and landing (like a helicopter) but free spinning for forward flight (like a gyrocopter).

[buglerbilly]

Its a compound autogyro/helicopter like the Rotordyne. The rotor is powered for takeoff and landing (like a helicopter) but free spinning for forward flight (like a gyrocopter).

Quite BUT my understanding is that it still needs a short distance to run, it doesn't lift vertically immediately...............

[Gubler, A.]

Quite BUT my understanding is that it still needs a short distance to run, it doesn't lift vertically immediately...............

Well I haven't seen any evidence of that. The DARPA spec was for vertical takeoff and landing so one would expect that the winner would have met this key requirement.

[buglerbilly]

We'll have to wait and see when they do the first flight BUT the wording says Gyrocopter specifically, and this is a slow turning rotor so how the ferk you are supposed to go vertical is beyond me and my limited understanding of aerodynamics. Cartercopter's aero-vehicles to date have all been gyro's and have all operated as STOVL aircraft.

It can vertically land, that I have no problem with, but take-off from a standing position......NOPE! They would need at least a high speed rotor for that surely?

[Gubler, A.]

It does have a high speed rotor, a high inertia rotor no less. The slow speed only comes into play once its airborne. The concept is quite elegant in that the rotor is spun up to high speed for takeoff taking all the output of the turbine in a non lift pitch and because of the weighted tips has a lot of inertia. The rotor is then brought into lift and the inertia keeps it spining to take off vertically where the turbine would not have enough power to do so. Once it is in the air and with the thrust from the turbine powering the aft fan it converts to a compound gyro/wing flight.

[buglerbilly]

I told you my knowledge was limited............:abovelol

[Gubler, A.]

Well its a pretty unique configuration. AAI call it 'jump lift' but 'spinning top' would be just as accurate a name...

[ARH v.3.1]

I love the second pic, this vehicle is a large autogyro. Now just WHERE do they think this vehicle is going to get enough speed up to transfer into autogyro mode sitting on a rocky slope! :jerkit

They're going to push it off the cliff...obviously!

[buglerbilly]

I did think of that but restrained myself from saying so...........:rofl

[buglerbilly]

DATE:30/09/10

SOURCE:Flight International

DARPA selects AAI to design flying jeep

By Stephen Trimble

AAI will design a flying jeep under a $3 million contract awarded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The TX Transformer programme asks the aerospace industry to demonstrate a flyable and roadable vehicle that can travel 250nm (463km) with four people and take off and land vertically.

DARPA intends to select two contractors to design and test a prototype, but so far has named only AAI as a contract winner in a 27 September announcement. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky have also expressed interest in competing for the Transformer contract.

AAI has not committed to a specific design approach for the Transformer vehicle, although the company previously showed a concept featuring a slowed rotor compound (SR/C) design.

Tom Bachman, AAI's vice-president for unmanned air systems, says the company will perform trade studies in Phase 1. These will include looking at ducted fan propulsors, he says, adding that he believes rotor lift will emerge as the best approach.

Among various rotor-powered options under study are the SR/C concept and autogyros. The SR/C design reduces rotor speed as lift shifts from rotor blades in hover to the wing in forward flight, minimising drag caused by the rotor. AAI has signed a licensing agreement to adapt the Carter Aviation Technologies SR/C concept for military applications.

First flight of the Transformer vehicle remains about five years away. DARPA is likely to select two contractors to complete a critical design review in about three to four years. A single contractor will then be selected to build and demonstrate a prototype vehicle in Phase 3.

[buglerbilly]

DARPA Kicks Off Transformer (TX) Program


AAI Transformer concept.

14:25 GMT, October 13, 2010

To meet much of transportation needs of today’s deployed Warfighter, either highly mobile multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV) are used, or helicopters, which have limited availability, are used. DARPA’s Transformer (TX) program seeks to combine the advantages of ground vehicles and helicopters into a single vehicle equipped with flexibility of movement. The concept is to provide options to avoid traditional and asymmetrical threats while avoiding road obstructions.

With this type technology, transportation will no longer be restricted to trafficable terrain that tends to make movement predictable. Benefits of enhanced mobility are numerous. The capabilities TX plans to provide may allow for improved resupply operations, fire-team insertion and extraction, and reduced time for medical evacuation—increasing probability of survival. Key to the success of this technology is the ability for guidance, navigation and control of the TX to be conducted without a dedicated pilot—increasing flexibility.

The TX program aims to develop a robust ground vehicle that can transform into an air vehicle with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability, while offering significant operational flexibility with the ability to efficiently travel 250 nautical miles on land and in the air, or any combination, while carrying up to 1,000 pounds. This payload requirement represents up to four Warfighters and their equipment, including a critical medical evacuation capability. It is envisioned that guidance and flight control systems will allow for semi-autonomous flight, permitting a nonpilot to perform VTOLs, transition into forward flight, and update the flight path in response to changing mission requirements or threats.

During the program’s first phase, performers will conduct trade studies to develop and mature propulsion systems, adaptable wing structures, advanced lightweight materials, the advanced flight control system, the air/ground configuration designs, and energy distribution systems. The developers of critical enabling technologies will work with the prime system integrators, incorporating their technology for a possible second phase. These trade studies will allow for development of a detailed technology maturation plan to ensure a feasible design of the vehicle and its supporting technology. Results of this initial phase will be used by DARPA to inform future phases.

DARPA has selected six vendors to participate in this 12-month effort: AAI Corporation and Lockheed Martin Company, prime system integrators; Carnegie Mellon University and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, developers of critical enabling technology; and Aurora Flight Sciences partnered with ThinGap, and Metis Design Corp, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) recipients.

[buglerbilly]

This is a pretty pic of LM's proposals...............

[Weasel]

I love the second pic, this vehicle is a large autogyro. Now just WHERE do they think this vehicle is going to get enough speed up to transfer into autogyro mode sitting on a rocky slope! :jerkit



Autogyros were invented so as to take the risk out of flying. They are extremely hard to stall and would make an ideal platform for a minimally trained pilot to operate (aka grunt).

The easiest way to spin up an auto gyro is to actually direct vectored thrust from a tractor engine mount. The thrust turns over the rotors and then you can perform a jump launch as demonstrated in the video. Why is it best? No gearing and saves weight. All good for a flying vehicle. You simply redirect the thrust aft once the rotors are spun up and the vehicle jumps into the air.

The problem with autogyros is that pilots are not used to flying them and several accidents have occurred, largely due to pilot error. From memory Carter Copter has had its fair share of these accidents as well. Stupid things like not putting landing gear down, etc, etc.

And yes, autogyros make for good transports from small carriers. Can carry bucco more cargo then a V-22 or CH-47 and perform in the same envelope, oh and they are cheaper to develop.


cheers

w

[buglerbilly]

I stand corrected............:eek3

[buglerbilly]

Darpa’s Flying Humvee Goes Diesel

By Spencer Ackerman October 20, 2010 | 9:27 am

How do you get a flying Humvee into the air — and keep it aloft for 250 nautical miles? A diesel engine, according to Darpa.

The Pentagon futurists are dead-set on creating a Humvee that flies. In September, it awarded a $3 million contract for its Transformer project to Maryland’s AAI Corporation to begin tests on its helicopter-airplane-truck hybrid. Yesterday the project took another step forward: California’s Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, which makes engines for Air Force fighter jets and transport planes, got $1 million from Darpa to provide the beating heart of the Transformer.

According to a company statement, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne are going to model the Transformer engine on their EnduroCORE, a diesel engine that generates a “high power-to-weight ratio comparable to gas turbines.” It’ll need to. Darpa’s specifications for the flying Humvee require the Transformer to stay in the air carrying up to 1000 pounds for up to 250 miles without refueling. Diesel’s energy efficiency apparently satisfied Darpa’s suggestion that the Transformer be at least somewhat green.

They’ve got until 2015 to make it work, and this week looks to be when the Transformer team is starting in earnest. Tomorrow, the Los Angeles Times reports, Darpa will pull together Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, AAI and additional prime contractor Lockheed Martin for their first Transformer parley.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/darpas-flying-humvee-goes-diesel/#more-33641#ixzz12xBX3HMr

[buglerbilly]

US military developing flying car

US military commanders are considering procuring flying cars to transport troops around the battlefield.


The vehicle will be able to travel 280 miles by land and air, using vertical take-off and landing to increase access to difficult terrain Photo: FERRARI PRESS AGENCY

10:43AM GMT 01 Dec 2010

The vehicle would function just like a big four-wheel-drive Humvee when on the ground.

But it would also be able to take off like a helicopter and fly away from trouble or to avoid enemy road blocks.

Part of the American research and development money, worth £41 million and led by American defence and aerospace firm AAI, has gone to US firm Terrafugia which is already developing the world's first flying production car.

The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to develop a four person flyable and road worthy vehicle.

Terrafugia, which has developed the Transition Flying Car , is the largest subcontractor to one of two winning teams.

The vehicle, known as the Transformer, or TX, would have what the project bosses describe as "unprecedented capability to avoid traditional and asymmetrical threats while avoiding road obstructions."

Intended missions would include medical evacuation, avoiding improvised explosive devices, remote resupply and taking special forces into action.

The vehicle will be able to travel 280 miles by land and air, using vertical take-off and landing to increase access to difficult terrain.

It will also have automatic flight controls so it can be flown by non-pilots.

Phase one of the five year, three-phase program will focus on conceptual design of both a prototype and a production vehicle.

Phases two and three will focus on the design and manufacture of the prototype, which could be ready as early as first quarter 2015.

The work calls for Terrafugia's expertise in drive and flight integration, deployable flight surfaces, and automotive crash safety for an aircraft.

Company chief Carl Dietrich said: "Our strong team of Terrafugia engineers with recent experience designing and building a dual purpose vehicle will bring a unique perspective to the TX program."

Terrafugia's Transition flying car is on schedule from detailed design for production in the second half of 2011.

The company is based in Woburn, Massachusetts and was founded by five pilots.

The word terrafugia is Latin for "escape from land."

[buglerbilly]

Scaled Looking At Hybrid-Powered Flying Car

Jul 15, 2011

By Guy Norris
Mojave, Calif.



Scaled Composites is exploring potential development options for a twin-fuselage, hybrid-powered aircraft that could prove to be a practical solution to the long-held dream of a flying car.

Dubbed the Model 367 BiPod, the two-seat vehicle is configured with removable wings, stabilizer and tail tips to enable swift conversion into a road vehicle. Seating one person per fuselage, the BiPod is designed to be driven like a car from the left-hand cockpit and flown as an aircraft from the right side.

Combining many features of previous Scaled designs ranging from the Long-EZ canard kit plane to the twin-fuselage Pond Racer and WhiteKnightTwo, the BiPod is the final design of company founder and former chief technical officer Burt Rutan. Originally conceived as a rapid, low-cost electric testbed, the effort evolved into a flying car project and was accelerated to enable Rutan, a long-time advocate of personal electric aircraft, to see the vehicle completed before his retirement this April. The BiPod was brought from preliminary design to first flight in just four months.

So far the BiPod has made several short hops in ground effect along the main runway at Mojave, Calif., being propelled briefly into the air by building up speed using the battery-powered driving wheels. “The next step would be to develop the distributed propulsion system, which is the highest priority,” says design engineer David Sanchez. For a full flight-capable BiPod this will be built around two 450-cc, four-stroke internal combustion engines, one per fuselage.

The engines will drive generators to feed the distributed electrical power system which, in road mode, will power two 15-kw motor-driven wheels that are positioned aft in each fuselage behind steerable nose wheels. For flight, the engine power will be supplied to electrically driven, 32-in. dia. propellers. The BiPod is initially designed to operate with four 15-kw motor-driven propellers, one on each wing leading edge and two on the horizontal stabilizer linking the two fuselages.

Lithium batteries, which are recharged by the engine generators, are located in the nose and provide additional energy for takeoff. They are also available to provide power for at least two landing attempts in case of an engine emergency, says Sanchez. The propulsion system is fully redundant with a wheel-drive motor, two propellers and motors, controllers, 1.2 kwh batteries and an internal combustion engine in each fuselage.

“The most significant technical accomplishment is the new configuration—unique for a roadable airplane, in that the flight mode has an efficient aerodynamic configuration, low span-loading and high aspect ratio. Yet, it can quickly be converted to a roadable car that can operate on freeways in high crosswinds and can park in a single-car garage,” says Rutan.

With a span of 31 ft. 10 in. with wings attached, and 7 ft. 11 in wide without wings, the BiPod is designed to takeoff and land in less than 400 ft. and cruise at 200 mph. With a gross weight of 1,430 lb., range is around 530 mi. in higher-power mode and up to 760 mi. at 100 mph, says Sanchez. For road operation, it is designed as a commuter vehicle capable of 820 mi. on 18 gal. of regular gasoline at freeway speeds. On battery power alone it will have a 35-mi. range. When used as a car the wings are designed to be stowed between the fuselages in around 10 min.

A key design consideration was where to place the center of gravity (cg), as the preferred location differs between air and ground vehicles, says Sanchez. A car cg is normally further aft for improved traction and handling with rear-wheel drive configurations. The best location for an aircraft cg, on the other hand, is further forward than a car, at around 25% of the wing chord.

The design solves this conundrum by positioning the cg for road stability, while using direct blowing of the all-moving horizontal stabilizer and power to the rear wheels to rotate for takeoff. A flap on the wing section between the fuselages can be deployed to help generate lift at takeoff, although its primary function is to act as a spoiler during car mode.

The basic ground-handling and preliminary flight characteristics were assessed during a short series of tests over recent months. Scaled test pilot Mike Alsbury says inadequate power from the current batteries and electric drive system meant “we could not get quite to the speeds we wanted. However, we still managed to fly in ground effect, and it felt very stable.”

Alsbury says that the low cg and wide wheelbase also resulted in a stable, controllable road configuration both on a skid pad and at freeway speeds up to around 80 mph. With a steering wheel and foot brake in the left-hand cockpit and flying controls (side-stick, rudder/brake pedals) in the right, the throttle is the only interlinked system between the two.

Although development has been kept under wraps until now, Scaled says it is revealing details to the outside world to gauge interest in further development. “We’re open as to what the options might be,” says Scaled President Doug Shane, who notes that the company “is not in the business of building roadable aircraft, or kits.”

Scaled used the BiPod development effort as a chance for some of its new engineers to work directly with Rutan before he retired, and also to begin development of its first electric aircraft work. “We haven’t done anything in the electrical world at all and we’re just getting our feet wet. It would be great if something came out of it, but it’s already been valuable to the company even if we don’t do anything else with it,” Shane adds.

Aside from longer-term potential roadable commercial aircraft projects, Scaled believes the project may attract interest from military users.

Photo credit: Scaled Composites



AND here we have wings attached...............



And the model showing the engine locations.........

[buglerbilly]

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Is DARPA's Fly-Drive Transformer on the Right Road?

Posted by Graham Warwick at 10/24/2011 3:02 PM CDT

DARPA says AAI and Lockheed Martin have "feasible designs" for its Transformer (TX) "flying Humvee" and both have moved into Phase 2 of the program to demonstrate a prototype fly-drive tactical vehicle.

This will lead to preliminary design reviews at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2012, after which DARPA will decide whether to select one team to proceed into Phase 3, which would culminate in ground and flight demonstrations of a prototype TX in mid-fiscal 2015.

Transformer is not simply a roadable aircraft - it is a four-seat vehicle that must be able to drive off-road, survive small-arms fire, and rapidly reconfigure into an aircraft that can take off and land vertically and be flown without pilot training.

Meeting these requirements is pushing the state of the art in lightweight materials and structures, high power-to-weight engines and autonomous flight controls. But "there is covergence, we are seeing feasible designs," says DARPA Transformer program manager Stephen Waller, speaking at a recent AIAA conference.

But huge challenges lie ahead in balancing the size, weight and power requirements for a sufficiently rugged fly-drive tactical vehicle.You can read and see more about the program over on Aviation Week's technology blog Leading Edge. Meanwhile, here are the latest published configurations for the two designs:




Concept: AAI




Concept: Lockheed Martin