Increasing TAS in Modern Day Fighters with Expandable Wing Tips

As fighter aircraft get faster and faster there is a diminishing return on more aerodynamic streamlining in designs. You can only build the aircraft so Aerodynamically Correct once you have the best optimum design for speed, there is little you can do without changing the aircraft in-flight or the air itself. Of course both of those possibilities have been and are being looked at. Lets think on the many types of fighter aircraft, which change their configurations in-flight. You have the F-8 Crusader which changed its angle of attack in-flight so it could land at slower speeds, while achieving very high speeds in flight. The F-111 and the F-14 Tomcat both have wings which sweep back in flight as the airspeed increases. Many newer fighter designs have thrust vectoring nozzles to help them with maneuverability and quick turns, well that is as long as the pilot can take the additional Gs without passing out or imploding. The new JSF, B-1 Bomber and other fighters like the F-117 can store their munitions inside the aircraft so they are not hanging out there causing incessant parasite drag or adding to the extremely low radar signatures needed to maintain a stealth configuration. Many fighters will have additional drop tanks for extra fuel, which once used up are dropped. Once dropped the aircraft can then have additional maneuverability and shed the extra drag hanging below. Designers and engineers, even pilots have often thought of ways to redesign the fastest and best performing aircraft in the modern era.

I propose another modification, a simpler one, which can achieve these types of increases while using very little weight. Recently an F-15 had a mishap, I believe a mid-air collision in which all of its right wing was tore off. The plane it hit both pilots ejected, however the F-15 is a tough bird with a lot of thrust and it was still under control by its pilot. The pilot and navigator/weapons co-pilot could not see the wing was gone, only a fire ball along side. They decided to fly the aircraft in and did so successfully; how can this be? Well they landed at a high airspeed and maintained control with the thrust of the aircraft. Once an aircraft travels above 450 Knots the fuselage starts flying. The fighters we have today like the F-18 Hornet (Navy) and the F-16 Talon, F-15 Eagle (Air Force) have substantial fuselages which act as wings. Therefore at higher speeds the actual wings which stick out considerably on the aircraft are simply not needed and actually impede the aircrafts top True Air Speed (TAS). So lets eliminate them once airborne and up to speed. Of course we cannot just drop them like the drop tanks as that is a very costly part of the modern day fighter. Besides if the wings fall off and then you have to come back an land you would have to land at a very high rate of speed like those brave boys in the F-15 missing on very important right wing from the jet intake outward; what a story, quite ballsy indeed. In my modification I propose an expandable wing spar to fold outward to various positions, perhaps two or three. Straight out, 26 degrees and 45 degrees, behind this fold out spar would be a webbing of strong inflatable polymer rubbery material made of partially MMM Manufactured material memory substances. The webbing would come out and then inflate using the jet engines ram air before take off. This hot air would cause the material memory to have increased camber for the take off configuration, a fat wing. As the aircraft accelerated the hot air would be replaced with cooler air, ram air from the ambient temperature. At 450 to 500 Knots the wing would fold back to 26-degree and then at 550 to 600 Knots fold back to 45-degrees. As the aircraft approached the speed of sound it would be completely retracted. As the webbing retracts it would run thru a roller system allowing it to take up very little space, as the area it retracts into will also hold fuel tanks and space would be limited. As the folding spar comes back it would provide an end-cap covering the system as well as a small gate or strake on the protruding fuselage/wing tip. Without the wing on the aircraft efficiency would occur in less drag, meaning higher speeds, better range and fuel economy.

We seem to be reaching the top end of aerodynamic design in an atmosphere in modern day fighters. We are at the point that it is getting difficult to design an aircraft much faster. So we either need some new radical designs, change the air itself or further modify the aircraft in flight to better maintain efficiencies at each airspeed, altitude and stage of flight. Lighter and stronger materials are now coming online, how we choose to use them will be crucial in maintaining air superiority. If you are an aircraft designer please be thinking here, thank you.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

Wake Turbulence Vortices Use in Aerodynamic Aircraft Designs
We know of the tremendous amount of wake turbulence high wing loading swept wing aircraft create at high angles of attack. This intense airflow creati...

The MiG-3 - Russia’s Best WWII Fighter Plane
The German Luftwaffe in July and August of 1941 encountered for the first time a previously unknown Russian fighter with a long slender nose. It was ...

Try Paragliding! A Quick Introduction, Plus an Imaginary First Flight
Have you ever wondered about the basics of paragliding? Just how is a paraglider constructed? Or how do you actually fly one?One of the first things y...

Flex Wing Vs. Fixed Wing Ultralight Airplanes
More than a century ago, even before the Wright Brothers made their first flight, tens of other engineers tried to make a powered and controlled airpl...

The F-86 Sabre Jet Fighter
Of all the aircraft I worked on while in the Air Force my favorite was the F-86 Sabre Jet. It was an easy aircraft to work on, and the Canadair Sabre...

Minute Men Jet Fighters Needed Again
During the cold war we had jet fighters which were called minute men which could go from starting the engine to 10,000 feet is right around six minute...

Modern Aircraft-The Piaggio Avanti II
The Piaggio Avanti is an executive aircraft built by the Italian firm Piaggio Aero. The Avanti has a visual flair reminiscent of ground bound vehicles...

Aircraft Wings Changing Shape on Landing
Most aviation accidents happen near the airports and of those most happen on or very near the runway. This is because of the speeds involved, the cong...

Inflatable Wings for Fighter Aircraft; Loss of Agility Debate
Inflatable materials are coming of age both in strength and performance. It has been proposed that such inflatable wings be added to fighter aircraft ...

BD-10 Personal Fighter Jet Needs Modifications for Increased Performance
Probably the coolest innovation in recent Experimental Aircraft History in the new millennium is the new Bede Corporations BD-10 Personal Fighter Jet,...

The Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley MkV Bomber
In 1934 the British Air Ministry issued a requirement for a heavy bomber as one of the steps in the British rearmament program, The new aircraft would...

Blimp Laser Pole Aft of Aircraft for Vortex Propulsion
In studying aerodynamics of birds and how they use their wings, we see something that can help us in propulsion. We have noticed spiral, horizontal to...

History of Aircraft Development
On December 17, 1903 Wilbur Wright watched in amazement as his brother Orville Wright took off and landed the worlds first powered airplane flight. Th...

Tactile Strip Sensors on Leading Edge of Material Memory Airfoils
Aircraft designers have always tried to figure out the best compromise for the aircraft they build, trying to get maximum performance at both high and...

The 3 Growth Strategies You Must Know
Simply put, there are only three ways to increase the top-line sales of a business.1. Increase the number of customers 2. Increase the average value ...