- 4 months ago
For educational purposes
By the year 2000 a new range of major combat aircraft and weapon systems will have entered service with the world's air forces.
Their extraordinary capabilities, made possible by new technologies ranging from 'fly-by-wire' to 'Stealth', will rewrite the rules of air combat and make most of today's fast jsts look antiquated.
FUTURE COMBAT AIRCRAFT uses unique footage to take you into the 21st Century, most of the projects which are leading to one of the most exciting periods in the history of flight are covered in a wealth of hitherto classified action footage:
Fightere :
- ALR Piranha
- BAs (ACA) Agile Combat Aircraft Demonstrator
- Dassault Rafale
- General Dynamics F-16 XL and F-18/AFTI
- Grumman X-29
- Lockheed Stealth F-117
- McDonnell Douglas F-15 BTOL
- Saab JA839 Gripen
Bombers :
- Rockwell B-1B Lancer
- Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit
Transports :
- Boeing YC-14
- McDonnell Dougles YC-15
- Boing C-17 Globemaster
Vertical Lift :
- Bell OH-58D Kiowa
- Bell/Sikoraky S-75 Advanced Composite Airframe
program demonstrator
- European Helicopters EH 101
- McDonnell Douglas NOTAR demonstrator
- Sikorsky S-68 Advancing Blade Concept demonstrator
- Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
- Bell XV-15
The superbe footage is accompanied with a detailed script by BILL GUNSTON.
By the year 2000 a new range of major combat aircraft and weapon systems will have entered service with the world's air forces.
Their extraordinary capabilities, made possible by new technologies ranging from 'fly-by-wire' to 'Stealth', will rewrite the rules of air combat and make most of today's fast jsts look antiquated.
FUTURE COMBAT AIRCRAFT uses unique footage to take you into the 21st Century, most of the projects which are leading to one of the most exciting periods in the history of flight are covered in a wealth of hitherto classified action footage:
Fightere :
- ALR Piranha
- BAs (ACA) Agile Combat Aircraft Demonstrator
- Dassault Rafale
- General Dynamics F-16 XL and F-18/AFTI
- Grumman X-29
- Lockheed Stealth F-117
- McDonnell Douglas F-15 BTOL
- Saab JA839 Gripen
Bombers :
- Rockwell B-1B Lancer
- Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit
Transports :
- Boeing YC-14
- McDonnell Dougles YC-15
- Boing C-17 Globemaster
Vertical Lift :
- Bell OH-58D Kiowa
- Bell/Sikoraky S-75 Advanced Composite Airframe
program demonstrator
- European Helicopters EH 101
- McDonnell Douglas NOTAR demonstrator
- Sikorsky S-68 Advancing Blade Concept demonstrator
- Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
- Bell XV-15
The superbe footage is accompanied with a detailed script by BILL GUNSTON.
Category
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LearningTranscript
00:00The End
00:30Over 30 years ago, many experts, including ministers and air marshals,
00:42were agreed that the age of the manned combat aircraft was over.
00:47Future wars would, they said, be fought by missiles,
00:51and there was therefore no need for any more fighters or bombers.
00:57Today, we know better.
00:59Future warplanes have never been more varied and exciting.
01:19Millions around the world have been impressed by flight demonstrations
01:23of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.
01:27Often, the display has been enhanced by artificial smoke from the wingtips,
01:31which, in fact, can be very educational to an aerodynamicist.
01:35The difference in angle between the smoke trail and the angle of the wings
01:39can often exceed 30 or 40 degrees,
01:43which, with earlier jets, would have been impossible.
01:45The F-16 was designed by a brilliant team who were not crippled by having to meet an official specification.
01:53As a result, the new fighter came out so good it has set a standard for all later rivals
01:59and will be around far into the 21st century.
02:02It was the first fighter designed to sustain 9G in a turn,
02:08which is really more than the pilot can take.
02:11In all-round agility, it is even today hard to beat.
02:14Naturally, new versions have appeared.
02:19One of the most remarkable is the F-16 AFTI,
02:23standing for Advanced Fighter Technology Integration.
02:26This combines powered canard four-planes attached each side of the inlet duct
02:32with a new digital fly-by-wire flight control system.
02:36The AFTI first flew in July 1982.
02:41It demonstrated maneuvers that even today no other aircraft can do.
02:45These pictures of the HUD, or head-up display,
02:50show a little of the AFTI's ability to aim the flight path or the gun quite separately.
02:56It can fly an up-and-down undulating path
02:59whilst keeping the fuselage absolutely horizontal.
03:02It can point the nose up or down whilst flying straight and level at constant height.
03:08It can yaw the nose from side to side whilst flying in a straight line.
03:12And it can keep the nose pointing dead ahead,
03:15yet fly diagonally sideways to left or right.
03:19Strafe.
03:21Strafe.
03:23Strafe.
03:23Give me another target.
03:25Strafe.
03:25These accomplishments really pay off in gun attacks against aerial or ground targets.
03:30Strafe.
03:39An even bigger modification was the F-16 XL,
03:44which also first flew in 1982.
03:47Two were built with different engines,
03:50one being a two-seater.
03:52This was a truly remarkable stretch of the original F-16,
03:55the main changes being a lengthening of the fuselage
03:59to fit a totally new wing.
04:01This wing was called a cranked arrow shape,
04:05and there was no horizontal tail.
04:08Wing area was more than doubled,
04:10from 300 to 663 square feet.
04:14Internal fuel capacity was increased by a staggering 82%,
04:18and conformal or recessed stores locations
04:21were provided for 29 bombs or other loads.
04:34Combat radius with typical heavy bomb loads
04:37was increased by 87%.
04:39Flight tests showed that the cranked arrow F-16
04:58could roll at 30 degrees angle of attack
05:00at 90 knots with 12 GP bombs.
05:03Compared with an ordinary F-16,
05:12the XL could take off in two-thirds of the distance,
05:15whilst carrying double the weapon load.
05:18In the event,
05:20the U.S. Air Force picked the F-15E instead,
05:23but we have not seen the last of the cranked arrow wing.
05:27Many observers cannot understand the lack of urgency
05:31in developing jet-lift vertical landing fighters.
05:37The McDonnell Douglas 279
05:40was a suggestion for an upgraded Harrier,
05:43but no customers showed up.
05:45This 1980 project was one of dozens
05:48which never became metal.
05:51McDonnell also suggested this swing-wing fighter.
05:54Boeing proposed to use arched wings
05:56to get favorable shock compression.
05:58Another Boeing study featured long-engine nassels
06:02joined by a wing which merged into the horizontal tail.
06:06This proposal combined a conventional tail
06:09with swing wings,
06:10the engine inlets being on top.
06:12One of the many supersonic cruise fighters
06:15would have had this arrow-like wing.
06:18Had they been built,
06:19all would have been armed with AIM-120A AMRAP,
06:23the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile.
06:25This has its own nose radar.
06:28It is thus a fire-and-forget missile,
06:31able to home on its target by itself.
06:34This stumpy machine pioneered
06:36the challenging new technology of stealth.
06:39The Lockheed F-117A was the first aircraft
06:42designed to be almost invisible
06:44to radar and infrared sensors,
06:46as well as difficult to see and hear.
06:49Lockheed built 59 of these strange birds
06:52for the U.S. Air Force.
06:53The whole project was conducted
06:55in the utmost secrecy,
06:57and even today,
06:58we know little about the F-117A.
07:01In September 1977,
07:04a group of Swiss engineers and industrialists
07:06planned to build a fighter smaller,
07:09lighter, and therefore cheaper
07:10than any rival.
07:12Thus, they hoped to sell production examples
07:14to third-world countries.
07:15The Piranha, as they called it,
07:18was a neat canard delta,
07:21and to prove the idea
07:22and interest possible partners or customers,
07:25they made a beautiful radio-controlled
07:27flying-scale model.
07:30Onboard power units drove the canards
07:32and wing-mounted elevons.
07:33At the back was the small pusher piston engine
07:52and propeller,
07:52which gave the model a speed
07:54which, multiplied by the model's scale,
07:56was equivalent to about the speed of sound.
08:03The Piranha, as they called it,
08:33The group had a lot of fun with this model,
08:44which demonstrated that the full-scale Piranha
08:46would have had excellent flying qualities,
08:48with good agility
08:49and the ability to rock laterally near the stall.
08:52At the end of each mission,
09:14the Piranha could be brought back
09:15for refueling and re-arming,
09:17though, of course,
09:18it only needed a cup full of fuel
09:20and no weapons.
09:32Since December 1984,
09:35two small research and demonstration aircraft
09:37in California
09:38have opened up a new chapter in aviation.
09:41The Grumman X-29A
09:44is the world's first successful FSW,
09:47or forward swept-wing aircraft.
09:50Back in 1942,
09:53German aerodynamicists showed that the FSW
09:56is more efficient than the conventional swept-back wing.
09:59They built the FSW Junkers 287 jet bomber,
10:04but it could not have flown at high speed.
10:07It needs but little thought
10:09to see that the FSW
10:10tends to tear itself off.
10:13The more it bends,
10:14the worse the loads.
10:16Imagine pushing a sheet of stiff paper
10:18into the wind.
10:19The FSW was rediscovered in the 1970s,
10:40and by this time,
10:41such a wing could be made.
10:44Today, the skins can be made
10:45of carbon-fiber composite
10:47with the plies or sheets
10:49arranged like plywood
10:50with the strong carbon filaments
10:52running in different directions.
10:59Today, we can make an FSW
11:01that is stiff enough,
11:03strong enough,
11:03and light enough
11:04to create a superior aircraft.
11:09Time and costs were saved
11:11by using parts of other aircraft,
11:13including an F-5A
11:14and an F-16,
11:16in making the two X-29As.
11:19The engine is a GE F-404,
11:22as fitted to the F-A-18.
11:25Though small,
11:26the X-29 could revolutionize
11:28fighter design.
11:30Among other things,
11:31it is totally unstable.
11:34The pilot relies absolutely
11:35on triple flight control computers.
11:38Without these,
11:39the aircraft would be like a dart
11:41thrown with the flights in front
11:42and the point at the back.
11:45The pilot would be powerless
11:46to prevent violent sideways yaw
11:48or tumbling in pitch,
11:50which at high speed
11:51would be catastrophic.
11:53The computers continuously
11:55correct the trajectory
11:5640 times per second.
11:58The first X-29A
12:00proved that the claimed advantages
12:02of the FSW were real,
12:04and Grumman and NASA pilots
12:06have been well-pleased
12:07with the results
12:08of major test programs.
12:11The second X-29A
12:13began flying in 1989
12:14with special equipment
12:16for even more challenging tests
12:18at angles of attack
12:19up to 40 degrees.
12:21If these go as planned,
12:23the maneuvers,
12:24pull-outs,
12:25and slow speed tests
12:26will explore behavior
12:27at up to 70 degrees.
12:30The X-29A
12:32came too late
12:33to influence
12:34the U.S. Air Force
12:35ATFs,
12:36the advanced technology fighters.
12:38But we may well see
12:40some production FSWs
12:42early in the next century.
12:57Most of today's
12:58major fighter prototypes
12:59are much bigger
13:00and more powerful
13:01than the X-29.
13:03There is one exception,
13:05and it even has a version
13:06of the same engine.
13:08Sweden's Saab JAS-39 Gripen
13:11is the latest
13:12in the remarkable succession
13:14of advanced combat aircraft
13:15designed, developed,
13:17and produced
13:18wholly by Sweden.
13:20Designed as a multi-role
13:22air defense
13:22and attack aircraft,
13:23it was carefully planned
13:25to fly virtually
13:26all the missions
13:27that require four versions
13:28of the Saab Vigen.
13:29yet do all this
13:31in a single type
13:32of much smaller aircraft.
13:34gross weight is only
13:58about 17,700 pounds,
14:01compared with well over
14:02twice this
14:03for an EFA or Rafale
14:05and almost five times
14:06as much
14:07for an F-15E.
14:09The engine
14:10is the Volvo RM-12,
14:13an uprated version
14:14of the General Electric
14:15F-404,
14:16and because of the
14:17modest loaded weight,
14:19the thrust-to-weight ratio
14:20with this single engine
14:21exceeds unity.
14:22The Gripen is designed
14:26like the F-16
14:26for sustained turns
14:28at 9G,
14:29and it follows fashion
14:31in having powered canards
14:32and a rear delta wing.
14:34British Aerospace
14:48helped with design
14:49and construction
14:49of the carbon fiber wings,
14:51and many other
14:52British companies
14:53also assisted.
14:55The aircraft
14:56was rolled out
14:57on the 26th of April,
14:581987,
15:00but did not fly
15:01until the 19th of December,
15:031988.
15:04The flight program
15:05opened beautifully
15:06with a Viggen
15:07flying as chase aircraft.
15:25The vital triplex
15:27FBW fly-by-wire
15:28flight control system
15:30began testing
15:31on a Viggen
15:31back in 1982,
15:33and a second Viggen
15:34has been used
15:35for flight testing
15:36the Gripen's avionics
15:37and weapon systems.
15:39Despite this,
15:40an exceptionally long period
15:42of ground testing
15:43was scheduled
15:44for the first
15:44of the five Gripen prototypes.
15:48Then,
15:48disaster struck.
15:50On the 2nd of February,
15:521989,
15:53a fault in the complex
15:54computer software
15:55resulted in a serious
15:57landing accident,
15:58which destroyed
15:59the first aircraft.
16:00The cost of the program
16:02is also a problem
16:03for a country
16:04with a population
16:05less than that of London,
16:06but 30 Gripen's
16:08are on order,
16:09and a further 110
16:10are expected
16:11to be funded.
16:12Another company
16:25faced with problems
16:27is France's proud
16:28avion Marcel Dassault.
16:30This firm
16:31has exported
16:32various Mirages
16:33by the hundred,
16:34but the future
16:35looks bleak.
16:36Not many Mirage
16:382000s have been sold,
16:39and the next generation Rafale
16:41will have to struggle
16:42even harder.
16:44Rafale means
16:45squall or hurricane.
16:48So far,
16:49just one demonstrator
16:50has been built,
16:51and it first flew
16:52on the 4th of July,
16:531986.
17:04Another of the fashionable
17:05Canard deltas,
17:07it has a clean combat weight
17:08of about 31,000 pounds,
17:11carrying no load
17:12except air-to-air missiles.
17:14Engines are two
17:15of the popular
17:16F-404 afterburning
17:18turbofans,
17:19giving thrust-to-weight ratio
17:20of about unity.
17:23In 1989,
17:24one F-404
17:26was being replaced
17:27by one of the new
17:28Snecma M-88 engines
17:29planned for the production Rafale.
17:32The M-88 is smaller
17:34and slightly more powerful
17:35than the F-404.
17:37There are two
17:39planned production versions,
17:40which are expected
17:41to be slightly smaller
17:42than today's
17:43Rafale A demonstrator.
17:46The Rafale D
17:47is for the ArmΓ©e de l'Air,
17:49while the Rafale M
17:50is expected to equip
17:51the aircraft carriers
17:52of the Aero-Naval.
17:55There is also planned
17:56to be a tandem
17:57dual-trainer version,
17:59probably to be
17:59the Rafale E.
18:07The EFA,
18:09European Fighter Aircraft,
18:11has not yet been built,
18:12but it will look
18:13very much like
18:14the British Aerospace EAP,
18:16Experimental Aircraft Program.
18:19A single EAP
18:20was built,
18:21making its first flight
18:22on the 8th of August,
18:241986.
18:25Though a British demonstrator,
18:27intended to prove
18:28the technologies,
18:30aerodynamics,
18:30and basic systems
18:32to be used
18:32in the future EFA,
18:34the EAP was created
18:36largely on the initiative
18:37of British industry,
18:38but with contributions
18:39from West Germany
18:40and especially
18:42from Italy.
18:43It is shorter
18:52and stumpier
18:53than the Rafale,
18:54but has a larger wing area
18:56for superior maneuverability.
18:57The engines are two RB199s,
19:19much shorter than the F404
19:21and rather more powerful.
19:27The flight development program
19:50has been based
19:51at Wharton, Lancashire,
19:52but the EFA
19:53is to be a multinational program
19:55managed by a new consortium
19:57called Eurofighter.
19:59Partners include
20:00British Aerospace,
20:01MBB of West Germany,
20:03Air Italia,
20:04and CASA of Spain,
20:06and others may join.
20:08The EFA will have
20:10completely new engines
20:11of very advanced design,
20:13the Eurojet EJ200.
20:16These will be fed
20:17by inlets
20:18which will be curved round
20:19under the fuselage
20:20instead of rectangular.
20:22A gun will be fitted,
20:23and on the wingtips
20:25will be slim pods
20:26housing the electronic
20:27warfare system.
20:29The EFA will also have
20:31a specially designed
20:32vertical tail
20:33instead of one
20:34based on that
20:35of the tornado.
20:36The RB199 engines
20:38of the tornado
20:39have reverses,
20:40but these are thought
20:41unnecessary
20:42on the EAP and EFA.
20:45The fighters
20:46have huge air brakes,
20:48a braking parachute,
20:49braking foreplanes,
20:50and anti-skid wheel brakes.
20:52So stopping
20:53is unlikely
20:54to be a problem.
20:57After several years
20:58of time-wasting argument,
21:00a decision
21:01on which radar
21:02to fit
21:02may be taken
21:03in 1989,
21:04and then
21:05the partners
21:06can get on with it.
21:07The newest fighter
21:19flying in the United States
21:21is a much-modified version
21:23of quite an old one,
21:24the F-15 Eagle.
21:27Beautifully painted
21:27in national colors,
21:29the F-15S MTD
21:31began its flight test program
21:33on the 7th of September,
21:351988.
21:37Also known
21:38as the Agile Eagle,
21:40the SMTD
21:41stands for
21:42Stahl
21:42and Maneuver
21:44Technology Demonstrator.
21:48The modifications
21:49are aimed
21:50at enabling
21:50the F-15
21:51to use shorter runways
21:53and also prove
21:54a more difficult adversary
21:55in close air combat.
21:57The obvious change
21:59is that it has
22:00large-powered canards.
22:02Less evident
22:03are the two-dimensional
22:04engine nozzles
22:05to enable the jets
22:06from the Pratt & Whitney
22:07F-100 engines
22:09to be vectored
22:10through limited angles.
22:12On landing,
22:13the thrust
22:13can be largely reversed.
22:16These nozzles
22:17were first flown
22:18in May 1989.
22:21What makes them unique
22:23is that they are fitted
22:24to after-burning engines,
22:25and so have to control
22:27white-hot jets
22:28moving at supersonic speed.
22:31To make use
22:33of the stall qualities,
22:34the SMTD
22:35has to be able
22:36to use short,
22:37rough strips.
22:39The pilot's HUD
22:40is linked with sensors
22:42to enable
22:42accurate landings
22:43to be made
22:44between runway craters.
22:47It's a rebuild
22:48of the first
22:49two-seat F-15B,
22:51but the technology
22:52could be applied
22:53to any F-15.
22:55some of the biggest
23:02research programs
23:03for future combat aircraft
23:05are concerned
23:06with the sensors
23:06needed for operations
23:08in close proximity
23:09to land battles.
23:11Modern armies
23:12have deadly
23:13anti-air weapons,
23:14so that even
23:15well-protected aircraft,
23:17such as the A-10,
23:18need help.
23:23Helicopters are even
23:24more vulnerable,
23:25so future battlefield helicopters
23:27are likely to follow
23:28the example set
23:29by the Bell
23:29OH-58D Kiowa,
23:32or AHIP,
23:33Army Helicopter Improvement Program,
23:35in trying to survive.
23:37It has an advanced
23:39four-blade main rotor,
23:41high-power tail rotor,
23:43updated cockpit,
23:44and improved avionics.
23:46But the obvious
23:47new feature
23:48is the MMS,
23:50mast-mounted sight.
23:52This large ball,
23:53carried high above
23:54the main rotor hub,
23:56houses the sensors
23:57needed for finding
23:58and engaging targets.
23:59The self-evident advantage
24:12of an MMS
24:13is that it enables
24:15the crew of two
24:16to see and engage
24:17the enemy,
24:18whilst keeping
24:19the entire helicopter
24:20safely out of sight
24:21behind cover.
24:24The MMS ball
24:26is almost impossible
24:27to spot from long distances.
24:35The co-pilot observer
24:37can search for targets
24:38using the MMS TV camera.
24:41Like all the MMS sensors,
24:43this is auto-stabilized
24:45to stay on target
24:46despite motions
24:47of the helicopter.
24:56At the touch
24:57of a switch,
24:58the observer can select
24:59times 12 magnification
25:01for a much closer look
25:03at anything interesting.
25:05Of course,
25:06the MMS is power-driven
25:07to aim in any desired direction,
25:10the chosen sensor picture
25:11being displayed
25:12in the cockpit.
25:12A touch of another switch
25:26and the TV is replaced
25:27by an infrared thermal imager,
25:29which is especially
25:30useful at night.
25:32Once a target is selected,
25:34it can be designated
25:35by the third MMS device,
25:38a laser rangefinder
25:39and designator.
25:42Target data
25:43can automatically
25:44be handed off
25:45to other friendly platforms
25:46by a secure radio link.
25:48Here, data is passed
26:07to artillery,
26:08which destroys the target
26:10with a copperhead
26:11precision-guided projectile,
26:12which homes on the target
26:14designated by
26:15the helicopter's laser.
26:26Each OH-58D
26:28is reckoned
26:29to detect and deal
26:30with targets
26:31six times as fast
26:33as previous scout helicopters.
26:50A completely different
26:51kind of helicopter
26:52is the Sikorsky S-72,
26:54the rotor systems
26:55research aircraft.
26:57It was funded by NASA
26:58and the U.S. Army
26:59as a possible way
27:00of making helicopters
27:01fly much faster.
27:04Here, seen coming out
27:05of its hangar
27:06at NASA Ames Research Center,
27:08the RSRA looks odd
27:10because it has the rotors
27:12of an S-61,
27:13the landing gear
27:14of an F-5 fighter,
27:16and in its final form,
27:18wings,
27:19and the TF-34 turbofan engines
27:22of an S-3 Viking
27:24anti-submarine aircraft.
27:27The idea was
27:29that the machine
27:29would take off
27:30as a helicopter
27:31and then accelerate
27:33under the thrust
27:33of the turbofans.
27:35Gradually,
27:36the weight
27:36would be supported
27:37by the wing.
27:38The rotors
27:39could then be stopped,
27:41turning the aircraft
27:41from a helicopter
27:42into a conventional
27:43jet airplane
27:44with what was called
27:46an X-wing.
27:48Calculations suggested
27:49that in this mode,
27:51the S-72
27:52could fly
27:52at 345 miles per hour.
27:56Unfortunately,
27:57flight testing
27:58showed up various
27:59major problems,
28:00and the RSRA
28:01never did manage
28:02to stop its rotor
28:03in flight,
28:04though it flew
28:05with no rotor fitted.
28:09Because of the dangers
28:11of the flight test program,
28:13the S-72
28:13was fitted
28:14with ejection seats,
28:16a very rare thing
28:17on a helicopter.
28:18Clearly,
28:19it's undesirable
28:20to fire the seats
28:21through the main rotor,
28:22so a complex,
28:24sequenced escape system
28:25was tested.
28:29First,
28:29the blades
28:30of the main rotor
28:31were severed.
28:40Then,
28:40the seats
28:41were fired
28:41one after the other.
28:49The seats
28:49were British
28:50Martin Baker
28:51Mark 10s,
28:52selected for their
28:53proven reliability
28:54in automatic operation.
28:56In test programs
28:57such as this,
28:58nothing can be left
28:59to chance.
29:12Of course,
29:13the three seats
29:14in this test
29:14were occupied
29:15by dummies.
29:16another promising route
29:28to faster helicopters
29:29was the ABC,
29:31advancing blade concept.
29:33This was tested
29:34on another Sikorsky,
29:36the S-69,
29:37also given
29:38the military designation
29:39XH-59A.
29:42It was funded
29:43by the manufacturer,
29:45the army,
29:45and the navy
29:46and proved
29:47an excellent
29:47research aircraft.
29:52The problem
29:53with ordinary helicopters
29:54is that the blades
29:55of the main rotor
29:56are alternately advancing
29:58at very high airspeed
29:59and then retreating
30:01at much lower airspeed.
30:02The advancing blades
30:08tend to give high lift
30:09and roll the helicopter
30:10over,
30:12while the retreating blades
30:14tend to stall.
30:18The ABC was intended
30:20to counter this
30:21by using stiff,
30:22hingeless blades
30:23in two rotors,
30:24one above the other,
30:26rotating in opposite directions.
30:27Thus,
30:29the advancing
30:29and retreating blades
30:31were symmetrical
30:31on the left
30:32and right sides.
30:42The S-69
30:43had a retractable landing gear
30:45and two J-60 booster turbojets.
30:48With the blades
30:50of the upper
30:51and lower rotors
30:52crossing at 90 degrees
30:53to the fuselage,
30:54a speed of 204 knots
30:56was reached.
30:58With the blades
30:58crossing in line
30:59with the fuselage,
31:01the speed went up
31:01to 238 knots.
31:04In a shallow dive,
31:06the speed reached
31:07263 knots,
31:09or 303 miles per hour.
31:11No other wingless helicopter
31:14has ever exceeded
31:15300 miles per hour.
31:41The S-69
31:44demonstrated excellent agility
31:46and often made maneuvers
31:48involving negative G-lows,
31:50which other helicopters
31:51cannot do.
31:59It is widely believed
32:01that the Soviet
32:02battlefield helicopter
32:03codenamed HOKUM
32:04uses generally
32:05similar principles,
32:07though it does not aim
32:08at quite such high speeds.
32:11One of the most successful
32:18helicopter research programs
32:20is the NOTAR,
32:21or no-tail rotor.
32:23Funded by McDonnell Douglas,
32:25the NOTAR concept
32:26was tested using
32:28a rebuilt Army OH-6A
32:30scout helicopter,
32:31the testing beginning
32:32in 1981.
32:35The tail rotor
32:36was replaced
32:37by a completely new
32:38rear fuselage boom.
32:39This has a narrow slit.
32:42Later,
32:43it had two slits
32:44along the length
32:45of the boom
32:45through which air
32:46could be blown
32:47at high speed
32:48from an engine-driven fan.
32:51The thin sheet of air
32:52from the long slit
32:53alters the aerodynamics
32:55around the tail boom,
32:57causing the side force
32:58necessary to counter
32:59the torque
32:59of the main rotor.
33:00not only is there
33:02no dangerous tail rotor,
33:04but agility
33:05is enhanced.
33:07Air can be blown
33:08through slits
33:08on each side
33:09at the end
33:10of the boom
33:10to yaw the helicopter
33:12at up to 120 degrees
33:14per second.
33:14turns are equally
33:27good to left
33:27or right.
33:38The first Notar
33:39helicopter was flown
33:41backwards
33:41at 40 knots
33:43and it also performed
33:44wing-overs
33:45accelerating ahead
33:46to 70 knots,
33:48pulling up vertically
33:49and then with pressure
33:50on the left pedal
33:51rotating through
33:52180 degrees
33:54to dive back again.
33:56The pilots really enjoyed
33:58the Notar testing.
34:00One test
34:01which ordinary helicopters
34:02find very difficult
34:03is to fly in yard flight
34:05in a big circle
34:06whilst pointing
34:08at the same spot
34:08on the ground.
34:18In the past 10 years,
34:20Bell and Sikorsky
34:21have built
34:22and flown
34:22important research
34:24helicopters
34:24to test airframes
34:25of composite construction.
34:28Funded under
34:29Army contracts,
34:30these composite structures
34:32are expected
34:32to lead to helicopters
34:34that are simpler,
34:35cheaper to build
34:36and probably lighter
34:37and with indefinite
34:39fatigue life.
34:41This is the Sikorsky
34:42S-75
34:42which uses the engines,
34:45transmission and rotors
34:46of an S-76
34:47but has a completely
34:48new airframe,
34:50mainly of carbon fiber.
34:53Computer graphics
34:53were needed
34:54to design
34:55and to build
34:56the S-75.
35:10Computers
35:10developed
35:11the layups
35:11of the various fuselage panels.
35:13They also control
35:25the complex winding
35:26of the carbon filaments
35:28which is almost impossible
35:29to control by hand.
35:30Another research program
35:45funded by the U.S. Army
35:46was ADDOX,
35:47the Advanced Digital
35:49Optical Control System.
35:51Like the composite airframes,
35:53this was intended
35:54mainly to underpin
35:55the LHX
35:56which could become
35:57the world's biggest
35:58future helicopter program,
36:00totaling over
36:014,000 machines
36:02to fly scout,
36:04attack
36:04and utility missions.
36:07The ADDOX program
36:08investigated FBL
36:09or Fly by Light.
36:12Pilot control demands
36:13are converted
36:14into variable light signals
36:16which are transmitted
36:17along optical fibers
36:18to the control surfaces.
36:21The pilot could wear
36:22a helmet-mounted sight
36:23and night vision goggles
36:24to give a complete
36:25integrated system,
36:27immune to outside interference
36:28and able to operate
36:30in any weather
36:31or at night.
36:41A lot of simulation time
36:43was needed
36:43to solve problems
36:44and find the best way
36:45to fly at very low level
36:47without danger.
36:48another research program
37:17was the Sikorsky Shadow
37:18standing for Sikorsky
37:20Helicopter Advanced
37:22Demonstrator
37:23of Operator Workload.
37:25In 1985,
37:26an S-76 was modified
37:28by adding an extra cockpit
37:30ahead of the nose.
37:32Every part of the huge window area
37:35can be partly
37:35or totally covered
37:36to evaluate
37:37how external visibility
37:39affects pilot workload.
37:40The Shadow has fly-by-wire
37:43side-stick controller,
37:45touch-sensitive displays,
37:47infrared sensor,
37:49and other advanced devices
37:50which are likely
37:51to be built
37:51into a future LHX
37:53which might look
37:54like these sketches.
37:58In Western Europe,
37:59the biggest
38:00and most powerful helicopter
38:01is the EH-101.
38:04Produced by EH Industries,
38:06a partnership
38:07of Westland of Britain
38:08and Augusta of Italy,
38:10the EH-101
38:11is packed
38:12with tomorrow's technology.
38:16The main rotor
38:17has five blades
38:19of the burp type
38:20which enabled
38:20a Westland Lynx
38:22to set a world speed record
38:23at over 249 miles per hour.
38:26The prototypes
38:28have three GET-700 engines
38:31but British production versions
38:33are likely to have
38:34the more powerful
38:34RTM-322.
38:37Every active part
38:38of the 101
38:39is linked
38:40to a digital data bus
38:41and everything possible
38:43has been done
38:44to ensure
38:44that this Sea King replacement
38:46will still be modern
38:47in year 2020.
38:50The first versions
38:51will be naval
38:52mainly for anti-submarine operations.
38:54The second prototype
38:57was finished
38:57in tactical camouflage.
39:00The EH-101
39:01will typically cruise
39:03at 150 to 160 knots
39:05which is very fast
39:07for a helicopter
39:07and will fly
39:09550 nautical miles
39:11with full load.
39:14In the transport role
39:1635 armed troops
39:18can be carried
39:19or 16 stretcher patients
39:21or up to almost
39:226 tons of cargo.
39:24The British
39:34and Italian partners
39:35are more than
39:35halfway through
39:36a four-year test program
39:38and the EH-101
39:39looks like being
39:41extremely important
39:42in naval,
39:43air force,
39:43army
39:44and civil airline operations.
39:46Of course,
39:47though it is one
39:48of the world's
39:48fastest helicopters,
39:50the EH-101
39:51is still limited
39:52to under 200 miles per hour.
39:54But in 1955,
39:56Bell flew the first
39:58tilt-rotor aircraft
39:59and then followed
40:00in 1977
40:01with the first
40:03of two XV-15s
40:04seen here.
40:05The tilt-rotor
40:19gets the best
40:20of both worlds.
40:21It takes off,
40:23lands and hovers
40:24like a helicopter.
40:26Once in the sky,
40:27its two rotors
40:28are rotated down
40:29until they become
40:30giant propellers,
40:31turning the machine
40:32into a fast
40:33turboprop airplane.
40:34The XV-15s
40:37with two
40:381,550 horsepower engines
40:40driving 25-foot rotors
40:42demonstrated it
40:44could reach
40:44a level speed
40:45of 382 miles per hour.
40:48The flight test program
40:50was almost flawless.
40:52Indeed,
40:52even the small
40:53XV-15 demonstrator
40:55is the basis
40:55for a new design
40:56intended ultimately
40:58for production,
40:59the TW-68,
41:01being developed
41:01by former
41:02Bell engineers
41:03in partnership
41:04with the Shida
41:05of Japan.
41:06V-22 Osprey
41:08for the immediate future,
41:27all eyes are focused
41:28on the V-22 Osprey.
41:30Produced by Bell
41:32and Boeing in partnership,
41:33the Osprey prototype
41:34was rolled out
41:35in May 1988.
41:45What do you think
41:46of the aircraft?
41:46Great aircraft.
41:48Great aircraft.
41:49Great aircraft.
41:50Superfuture.
41:51Though Congress
41:52cut off funds
41:53in early 1989,
41:55money was later
41:56voted by the Senate,
41:57enabling almost
41:581,000 Ospreys
42:00to go ahead
42:00in several versions
42:01for the Marine Corps,
42:03Navy,
42:03and Air Force.
42:05Clearly,
42:06civil and export versions
42:07will follow.
42:13The first Osprey
42:14was repainted white
42:15and then spent
42:17eight months
42:17being tested
42:18on the ground.
42:18on the ground.
42:38Oh,
42:39God!
42:39Oh,
42:40God!
42:40God!
42:42Woo-hoo!
42:43God!
42:43God!
42:44God!
42:44God!
42:44God!
42:45God!
42:45God!
42:46God!
42:46God!
42:47God!
42:48Powered by 6,100 horsepower Allison T406 engines driving 38-foot rotors, the Osprey can take
43:12off vertically at 47,500 pounds or after a short run at 60,500 pounds. It can carry 24 combat equipped
43:23troops or 12 stretcher patients or 20,000 pounds of cargo. Where it scores over a helicopter is that
43:37cruising speed can be 345 miles per hour and range is approximately multiplied by 3.
43:54Design problems were not eased by making the entire machine, including the rotors and the
43:59wing, all fold up to form a compact package for operations from ships. Flight testing
44:06from March 1989 was described as absolutely perfect. The Osprey is also probably the quietest
44:1612,000 horsepower aircraft ever built. Much bigger, the Boeing YC-14s were built to compete
44:23for the advanced medium stall transport order expected to follow the C-130 Hercules in the
44:29U.S. Air Force. To achieve stall performance, the YC-14 featured USB, upper surface blowing.
44:38The jets were arranged to blast across the upper surface of the wings. When the flaps were lowered,
44:44the high-energy jets were also deflected, curving downwards to turn thrust into lift. The YC-14 had to be
44:53capable of carrying heavy loads, which might need to be airdropped at height or extracted very close to the ground.
45:00In maximum energy stopping, the thrust of the main engines was deflected diagonally forwards, while the eight
45:13main wheels of 737 type were put into full anti-skid braking. Minimum landing speed was only 99 miles per hour.
45:22On takeoff, on the other hand, the monster could get away like a fighter.
45:41On one occasion, both YC-14s performed for the cameras. Some memorable pictures were also taken by a camera looking ahead
45:49from the top of the giant fin. The rival was the McDonnell Douglas YC-15. This used EBF, or Externally Blown Flap System.
46:00The YC-15 engines were hung on pylons ahead of the wing, but at such a level that the jets blasted directly
46:08past the wing undersurface. The huge flaps of the double-segmented type were made of titanium to retain strength at
46:16high temperatures. When the flaps were lowered, they came down directly into the path of the jets, which on being deflected
46:23downwards, gave powerful extra lift. Neither of the AMST aircraft went into production. But after much more research,
46:32the EBF system was used in today's McDonnell Douglas C-17, which is a much bigger aircraft.
46:39One of the basic design tasks was to carry a cargo load of up to 172,000 pounds between theatres of action anywhere in the world.
46:49The C-17 resembles a scaled-up YC-15, powered by Pratt & Whitney F-117 engines of 37,000 pounds thrust each.
46:59These blow their enormous jets straight back into the lowered wing flaps, which are of the double-slotted Fowler type.
47:07The engines also have reversers which can be used on the ground or in flight.
47:12The F-117 is the military version of the PW 2037, seen here on a 757 of Delta Airlines.
47:30It is one of the most fuel-efficient engines in the world.
47:33At the Douglas plant at Long Beach, extensive tests were done on many parts of the C-17, including the main landing gears,
47:49each of which has two legs in tandem with three wheels side-by-side on each leg.
47:55Thousands of man-hours were spent designing the complex wiring looms,
48:00many of which carry information in the digital data bus systems which link everything on board.
48:06Such advanced avionics enable the flight deck to be designed for just two pilots,
48:11whereas 20 years ago there might have been an engineer, navigator and signaller.
48:17Many of the avionic items have close relatives in large commercial jetliners.
48:30Another advantage of such avionics is that a single loadmaster can control loading and unloading of any kind of cargo.
48:38Without help, he can bring on board an M-1 Abrahams battle tank.
48:48Cargos can also include various military vehicles or several Cobra or Apache helicopters.
48:57102 paratroopers with full equipment can also be carried.
49:03Part of the permanent equipment carried on board comprises three stretcher stanchions, each supporting four stretchers.
49:15These can be got ready in minutes for the air evacuation roll.
49:20Afterwards, the cargo rollers are put back.
49:24At its destination, the C-17 can maneuver, back up and park in a small space.
49:35The first flight is due in 1990 and the US Air Force plans to buy 210 of these extremely capable airlifters by the year 2000.
49:46Outside the superpowers, the large bomber is almost an extinct species.
49:55In the US Air Force, however, it is alive and well, despite the B-1 program being killed by President Carter in 1977.
50:04The original B-1 was the result of 15 years of study, but even so, it was far from right.
50:12After the cancellation, Rockwell and the Air Force worked to make it better.
50:17And the result is the B-1B, 100 of which were delivered to Strategic Air Command by April 1988.
50:25Even today, the B-1B is so complex that parts of it are still getting trouble.
50:31But it has transformed the capability of the United States to attack over long distances.
50:37The redesign into the B-1B was concerned with increasing mission effectiveness and survivability.
50:45Instead of flying at Mach 2 at high altitude, the B-1B is designed to fly at 600 miles per hour at about 200 feet.
50:54It still has swing wings, but the engines have simpler fixed inlets.
50:59And instead of a complex ejectable crew capsule, there are four conventional ejection seats.
51:08The three internal bays can accommodate a rotary launcher for eight ALCM or SRAM missiles.
51:16Total load can comprise 20 ALCMs, 24 SRAMs, 12 B-28 nuclear bombs, 24 B-61 or B-83 nuclear bombs, or 84 Mark 82 bombs or Mark 36 mines.
51:33One of the few weaknesses of this great aircraft is that the four GE F-101 engines emit large amounts of noise and infrared energy, making them easily detectable from a distance.
51:49When President Reagan ordered the go-ahead on the B-1B in 1981, he also sanctioned start of work on an even more formidable aircraft, the ATB Advanced Technology Bomber, today known as the B-2.
52:05This was won by the Northrop Corporation.
52:08Thus began the biggest aircraft development program of all time, costing so far an estimated 23 billion dollars.
52:19Between 1981 and 1987, Northrop had to create totally new methods in order to build the B-2.
52:27Every B-2 part was drawn not on paper, but on millions of computer graphics, instantly putting them into the software.
52:36It has masterminded the design, and enabled such problems as complex automated layups, filament winding, and use of complex radar absorbent materials to be solved by routine methods.
52:47Whereas using traditional methods, they could not be solved at all.
52:52Such an astronomic database of software takes in its stride the advanced displays for the two-man cockpit.
52:59The extraordinary structure and the highly classified methods adopted to minimize radar, visual and aural signatures, and as far as possible, keep down detectable infrared emissions from the four Cooljet General Electric F-118 engines.
53:16The programs have then managed the construction of the airframes, and stuffed them with advanced avionics and systems.
53:23The same vast software bank will carry on throughout the service life of the B-2, mainly at Oklahoma City, supporting each aircraft in strategic air command service.
53:35The first B-2 was rolled out on the 22nd of November, 1988.
53:43Following intensive further work, it made its maiden flight on the 17th of July, 1989.
53:50The first B-2 was rolled out on the 21st of July, 1989.
54:13Taxiing out, the all-wing bomber showed its superficial resemblance to Northrop's earlier flying wing bombers, the XB-35 and the YB-49, of more than 40 years earlier.
54:26By coincidence, the B-2's wingspan of 172 feet is just the same as that of those much older bombers.
54:35In all other respects, the B-2 is futuristic and truly awesome, with features which, because they are totally new, seem weird.
54:48Lined up on the runway, the decelerons, the split ailerons, and the wingtips, which also serve as rudders, were partly open.
54:56The extent of it, there's also no control to a wind-up, but, according to wind pressure, who works directly to the surface of the weather.
55:13The end-up's facing Northrop-left the cell phone was activated, yellow- Communist military former ΠΡΡ- Pascal, which comes back into the 33rd of July.
55:20as the f118 engines were opened up
55:49the decelerons were closed and the world's most advanced and most
55:53revolutionary aircraft took off and climbed smoothly away
56:05of course there are no afterburners and special measures are taken to break up
56:10dilute and cool the jets and screen any hot engine parts from external
56:15observation excellent pictures were taken from the chase aircraft while
56:21hundreds of engineers monitored the flight on the ground the four auxiliary
56:27engine inlets were left open because high-speed flying was not scheduled
56:31the air
56:36the air
56:38the air
56:40the air
56:43the air
58:04It seems strange that having done so much to hide it visually, by infrared and by radar,
58:17the B-2 should sound quite normal.
58:19But at $500 million each, can Congress afford it?
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