Flying-V prototype plane takes first flight
Flying-V prototype plane takes first flight
(Web Desk) - A prototype model of the ‘Flying V’ aeroplane, named after Gibson’s famous electric guitar, has had a successful test flight at an airbase in Germany.
Engineers performed a successful maiden flight of the 1/20 scale model, which is 10 foot wide and weighs 50 pounds, at the secret air base.
The V-shaped plane has been developed at Delft Technology University in the Netherlands and backed by Dutch airline KLM.
Once scaled up for commercial flights, Flying V will carry up to 314 passengers, including some housed within its wings, and use 20 per cent less fuel.
The craft’s wings, which stretch diagonally from the nose to form the distinctive V, will hold the passenger cabin, cargo hold and fuel tanks.
Its bizarre design will mean passengers looking out the window will be able to see the other half of the plane.
During the test flight, the remote pilot succeeded in taking off, flying various test manoeuvres and approaches and landed when the batteries were nearly empty.
‘One of our worries was that the aircraft might have some difficulty lifting-off, since previous calculations had shown that rotation could be an issue,’ said project leader Dr Roelof Vos.
‘The team optimised the scaled flight model to prevent the issue but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. You need to fly to know for sure.’
The successful test flight followed wind tunnel testing and a series of ground tests in the Netherlands.
It confirmed that the current design still shows too much ‘Dutch roll’, however, where it wobbles on either side, causing a slightly rough landing.
The team said the next step will be to use the data collected during the flight for an aerodynamic software model of the aircraft.
This will make it possible to programme it into a flight simulator to be used in future research and test flights.
