HOME | DD

Description
A concept for a high speed (Mach 3-5) aircraft.

The proportionately small wings are of a variable-geometry nature in order to allow for a combination of low drag at high speeds and satisfactory handling characteristics at low speeds. When the aircraft is preparing for take-off, the wings are fully unswept to 0 degrees of sweep in order to allow the plane to achieve a maximum amount of lift and therefore needing a minimum amount of runway.

As the aircraft's velocity increases, the wings are swept back a full 180 degrees so that they lay flush with the fuselage. This produces a minimum of drag. At this point, the wide body of the aircraft acts as a lifting surface in and of itself.

When the wings are unswept, the aircraft utilizes ailerons for roll. When the wings are fully swept back, roll is controlled using a combination of elevons, two-dimensional thrust-vectoring nozzles and the canted vertical stabilizers.

The vertical stabilizers are all-moving slabs (as in the SR-71). This allows it to remain controllable in the case of an engine going out at high speed.

The speed of the aircraft would be determined by several factors: the thrust that the engines can generate, the drag that the aircraft produces (which also depends on altitude), the structural integrity of the aircraft and canopy, and the structural integrity of the engines themselves. I feel that it could be made into a very fast aircraft if fitted with the proper engines and constructed of the proper materials.

Description
A concept for a high speed (Mach 3-5) aircraft.

The proportionately small wings are of a variable-geometry nature in order to allow for a combination of low drag at high speeds and satisfactory handling characteristics at low speeds. When the aircraft is preparing for take-off, the wings are fully unswept to 0 degrees of sweep in order to allow the plane to achieve a maximum amount of lift and therefore needing a minimum amount of runway.

As the aircraft's velocity increases, the wings are swept back a full 180 degrees so that they lay flush with the fuselage. This produces a minimum of drag. At this point, the wide body of the aircraft acts as a lifting surface in and of itself.

When the wings are unswept, the aircraft utilizes ailerons for roll. When the wings are fully swept back, roll is controlled using a combination of elevons, two-dimensional thrust-vectoring nozzles and the canted vertical stabilizers.

The vertical stabilizers are all-moving slabs (as in the SR-71). This allows it to remain controllable in the case of an engine going out at high speed.

The speed of the aircraft would be determined by several factors: the thrust that the engines can generate, the drag that the aircraft produces (which also depends on altitude), the structural integrity of the aircraft and canopy, and the structural integrity of the engines themselves. I feel that it could be made into a very fast aircraft if fitted with the proper engines and constructed of the proper materials.