Una notizia sul nuovo aereo della Airbus ha attirato la mia attenzione, si tratta di un problema di peso eccessivo che tende a far inclinare il velivolo in avanti rendendolo pericoloso.
Da timesonline.co.uk:

Carriers ponder compensation claims against Airbus for overweight aircraf

The first and business class sections on some A340600s are so heavy that they are pushing the jet’s nose down during flight, which can play havoc with the aerodynamics and potentially endanger passengers and crew. Flying nose down also increases drag off the wings and forces the aircraft to burn more fuel.

L'articolo mi ha fatto ricordare qualcosa che avevo letto tempo fa, e che vi ripropongo. È la storia, interessantissima, di un uomo geniale e delle sue idee, e dell'ostruzionismo a cui furono sottoposte. Buona lettura.


The Burnelli Conspiracy

The Vincent Justus Burnelli story started in Temple, Texas, in 1895. For the sake of brevity, I will pick it up in 1919, when young Vincent designed and built America's first great airliner, the 26-passenger Lawson [Ed.-- see picture on right]. This airliner was unique in its day and even flew a large number of congressmen around Washington in demonstration flights.

Questo è solo l'inizio della storia, consiglio di sfogliare l'intero sito.
Nella pagina qui sotto, invece, trovate in breve le caratteristiche salienti e i vantaggi dell'aereo secondo Burnelli:



The Burnelli Lifting-Body Principle of Design

Vincent Justus Burnelli, our company founder, invented, conceived and patented the Burnelli Lifting Body Principle of Design. This Principle of Design, while not well known due to political forces, remains, since 1921, the foremost technology in airframe design.

During his life, starting in 1921, Vincent Burnelli applied his Lifting-Body Principle of Design to nine aircraft (see photo section). Some of the advantages of his design principle:

Improved Survivability in accidents (as demonstrated by UB-14 crash of 1935)

More structure around occupants = better protection

Reduced Fire opportunities in crash

Segregation of Fuel & Engines = fire less likely from engine/fuel tank failure

Segregation of Landing gear & Fuel = less likely fire from landing-gear collapse.

Fuselage contributing to lift.

Higher Weight Carrying Capacity

Lower take-off and landing speeds

Provides floatation in case of water landing

General shape of fuselage

Allows carrying twice the volume of similarly powered aircraft

Allows more passenger comfort

Allows access & repairs to many aircraft functions 'in-flight' (including landing gear).

Ecco perché gli aerei commerciali, compreso il nuovo A380, mi sembrano così... obsoleti!!

Un'altra buona idea gettata alle ortiche.

Il Lun Ekranoplan sovietico (1966):

Cargo:


In versione da guerra con siluri:


400 tonnellate, 3000 km di autonomia, 600 Km/h..
..a 5 metri di altezza..

Wing-In-Ground (WIG) effect craft take advantage the fact that the aerodynamic efficiency of a wing, and particularly its lifting capacity, improves dramatically when is operated within approximately one-half of its span above ground or water, in what is termed ground effect.
If the wing’s natural accelerated flow passing over it is further accelerated by the high-velocity exhaust of a turbojet engine, the lifting capacity of the wing is even more greatly enhanced.

- Ground Effect and WIG Vehicles
- Lun Ekranoplan
- Project 903 Lun

Quasi mezzo secolo dopo la Boeing ci prova con il Pelican: capacità di carico.. 1400 tonnellate!

Sempre dalla Russia potrebbe arrivare il nuovo WIG-Plane Be-2500 (Neptune).. 2500 tonnellate di carico in grado di "atterrare" direttamente nei porti navali esistenti..

A quanto pare, si stanno finalmente mettendo in pratica le idee di Burnelli (ma senza attribuirgliene il merito, purtroppo):


New X-Plane Flies at Calif. Air Base



EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) -- An experimental jet that resembles a flying wing successfully flew for the first time in a program that could lead to more fuel-efficient, quieter and higher-capacity aircraft, NASA said Thursday.

The remotely controlled, 500-pound, three-engine jet with a 21-foot wingspan took off July 20, climbed to an altitude of 7,500 feet and landed about a half-hour later, NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center said.

...

The design is intended to provide more lift with less drag compared with the cylindrical fuselage of a traditional aircraft, reducing fuel consumption while cruising.

The engines are located high on the back of the aircraft, which should mean it is quieter inside and less noise reaches the ground during flights.

si può avere qualche elemento in più...in italiano?

Mi sembra un aereo di Conan... l'anime giapponese, non il film con Schwarzy!

Citazione:

se ne parla qui:
http://www.forumastronautico.it/index.php?topic=4395.0
e in inglois su
http://www.aircrash.org/burnelli/deeprut2.htm
http://www.dedalonews.it/it/index.php/07/2007/boeing-vola-lo-sperimentale-xb-48/
e http://www.burnelli.com/ ma è mezzo vuoto...