"MAGMA" Demonstrator von BAE Systems
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BAE Systems Resources
Re-engineering flight
It’s not just the materials that could change. Mechanisms that have helped generations of planes to fly could also be replaced forever.
A team led by Dr Bill Crowther, in partnership with BAE Systems, have been trialling ‘flapless plane’ technology. The trials are part of a long-term collaboration between industry, academia and the UK government. Their aim is to allow improved control and performance by replacing the need for complex mechanical systems with a simpler ‘circulation control wing’, where high-energy air is blown over the wing’s surface.
Their current MAGMA project builds on the earlier FLAVIIR project, undertaken by BAE Systems with the universities of Manchester and Cranfield, which culminated in the world’s first ‘flapless flight’ with the Demon drone.
MAGMA goes even further, increasing the blown air to supersonic speed and, for the first time, using the aircraft engine to provide the blown air. They’ll also test fluidic thrust vectoring technology, using it to manipulate the engines’ thrust direction to control the attitude or angular velocity of the pilotless craft.
Dr Crowther, a Reader in Engineering, sees the trials as an important step forward in our efforts to explore adaptable airframes. "We’re demonstrating that we’re at the cutting edge when it comes to developing next-generation aircraft. I believe that what we’re seeking to do is truly groundbreaking," he says.
A flight into the future | The University of Manchester