Video: Spend Some Quality Time With The X-47B (Carrier Suitability Testing)

 The video of the X-47B making the first-ever unmanned-aircraft launch from an aircraft carrier a few days was very impressive, but the one above, released a few days ago by Northrop Grumman, is also great because it gives you a much more in-depth look at both the X-47B itself and the rock-solid flying characteristics of this amazing unmanned aircraft. It's a compilation of the work done this Spring conducting the 'carrier suitability testing'.

 The video starts with the unfolding of its wings and includes many views of ground handling (including the use of the arm-mounted Control Display Unit [CDU] for deck maneuvering), great views of the control surfaces deflecting, and lots of takeoff and landing sequences (including shore-based catapult) showing how stable the X-47B is in all phases of flight. You also get some great air to air views of this most-unusual flying machine.

 And while we are getting used to aircraft that don't have vertical surfaces for stability, stop for a minute and wrap your head around how much is really going on every single second this thing is in the air to create such excellent stability without them.

 It's all a very impressive piece of work!

 
Video screenshot of the very unusual X-47B and its shadow on landing

Video: No Pilot, No Problem: X-47B Makes First Unmanned Carrier Launch!

 Today is a big day for unmanned aircraft as Northrop Grumman's X-47B made the first ever carrier launch without an onboard pilot at 11:18 am EDT off the coast of Virginia from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush. The catapult launch appears to have been a tremendous success! And while the X-47B can be operated autonomously (with no active human input) this launch was done with humans controlling the aircraft's actions.

 The launch is a follow up to the arrested landing test done back on May 4, 2013 on a shore-based runway (video below) where the aircraft showed no trouble catching the wire. The biggest test of all will come in the next few weeks or months as the X-47B will eventually attempt to land on the carrier deck at sea. It would seem that this will be a significant challenge compared to the tests completed thus far, but it would also appear that the aircraft is up to the task as it has looked rock solid at every turn since its first flight in February 2011.

 This aircraft certainly moves the military much closer to combat aircraft capable of operating in the tight and tense carrier environment, tho it's important to not that the X-47B is not itself intended for combat operations. It's also moving the military closer to the day when we will have aircraft of every capability being unmanned... and while many pilots see this as a huge negative, it does make sense to use the technology to protect human lives if it is able to function at a high level of safety.

 Maybe the brave new world will have a lot fewer jet jockeys but more hardcore aerobatic competition and airshow pilots! (these guys gotta get their vitamin G somewhere : )

(click pic to enlarge) Cropped screenshot of the first ever unmanned carrier launch: X-47B

Video: Welcome Home (I Think) - X-37B Lands After 469 Days In Space

 Do you remember the launch of an Atlas V rocket back on March 5, 2011 that was carrying the second Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle on its first flight? Well unless you're an uber space geek then you probably don't remember that launch. You're more likely to remember the return from space of the first X-37B back on December 3, 2010. Well anyway, the point is that early this morning, Saturday June 16, 2012, X-37B OTV-2 landed autonomously (pre-programmed making its own decisions) at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 5:48 am local time after spending 469 days in space circling the Earth.

Video screenshot: X-37B landing rollout early this morning after 469 days in space
 

 The mission appears to have been very successful. Great launch, great landing. It's what happened in between that stirs up all kinds of crazy talk. I haven't dug very deep to try to learn what the micro shuttle spacecraft might have been up to, but so far it appears to all be classified, including what the payload was. China seems to think it's a weapon and the U.S. Air Force (who actually operates the mysterious X-37B) says it's just a technology testbed for future satellites. Time will tell. Well, maybe it will.

 I put up a post with some background info on the X-37B (Getting To Know Discovery’s Runt Cousin: The Air Force X-37B) a little over a year ago. What I didn't know at the time was that Boeing also envisions the X-37C, an enlarged version of the X-37B (sized between 165% and 180%) that could actually be used to transport up to six astronauts and some cargo into space. That's pretty impressive as a people hauler given that the X-37C is still quite tiny compared to the Space Shuttle. You can learn more about the X-37C at Space.com: Secretive US X-37B Space Plane Could Evolve to Carry Astronauts.

X-37B, X-37C and Space Shuttle size comparison (illustration: Boeing)
 

 I find it all a remarkably encouraging actually... from the recent success of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the SpaceDev Dream Chaser making steady progress toward aerodynamic drop tests, we are seeing an amazing collection of ideas and realities for future manned space exploration. Almost makes me feel like a kid again : )

Video: The Amazing (True) Story Of The F-106 With No Pilot!

 I've seen the pic below for several years now but I didn't know the story behind til I watched this recent video put together by AVweb. What a fascinating story - especially when you realize it was repaired and put back into service! Even more amazing to me, this exact aircraft is on display at the Air Force Museum, which I just spent three days at last weekend, but I didn't even realize it until just now as I was putting this post together!

 Hmpf. I guess I'll have to go back to the Air Force Museum again! : )

The F-106 after it landed in a field in Montana... without the pilot!

Video: The Little UAV That's A Ball To Fly (Literally!)

 This little RC flying machine is getting some big attention here lately... the video above has had over 1,300,000 views in just over 2 weeks. It is pretty impressive how it mixes such stable vertical flying with a rapid transition to a more normal horizontal flight.

 The smallish and very well rounded UAV was developed by the Research Department at Japan's Ministry of Defense. On one hand, it's not really much different than the impressive Dark Deltoid posted back in February (video), but the addition of gyros coupled to the servos gives some added position stability, and the round shape does give it a rather unique option to roll along the ground. Not sure I'd say it was bargain for the claimed $1,400 to build, but I'll admit that I've never seen any flying machine blow the top off a spherical storage box and then launch vertically out of it : )

 I did a moment of research and found that it was demonstrated a while back as seen in the video below that was uploaded almost exactly a year ago. Maybe, just maybe, we'll see a $60 version of this roundy show up just in time for Christmas... if so, you can count me in!

CoolPix: X-47B Tailless UCAS 'Gear Up' 2Fer!

(click pic for hi-res)  Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAS: first gear up flight September 2011

 The envelope is being opened up significantly in the Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) program. It's now wheels up and throttle forward to the cruise configuration of the autonomous unmanned aircraft that's eventually headed for the aircraft carrier. These two images were released a couple days ago showing the wheels up for the first time, so I've made them available as CoolPix images for your viewing pleasure. Be sure to click 'em to make 'em big! (feel free to say 'wow' when the pix open up big)

 So far, the X-47B is performing extremely well, tho the bar will be raised a mile or so when they start getting serious about those unmanned, autonomous carrier landing trials at some point down the road. However, I'm pretty confident that we'll see great success there too as the program has been performing very well.

(click pic for hi-res)   Awesome view of the clean underside of the X-47B UCAS

 Actually, the X-47B is beginning to resemble God's creation we call birds as it has no vertical tail, can fold its wings, and, it's under its own pre-programmed guidance. It's all quite impressive... but I honestly can't imagine a day when we'll build a flying machine that can approach a moving wire in full flight on a gusty, windy day and rapidly translate to vertical flight for a flawless VTOL landing on said moving wire. Birds do it every day without even thinking about it!

 We're good, but we aren't God : )

Video: Behind-The-Scenes With The Martin Jetpack's 5,000' Flight

 Here's a really well done behind-the-scenes look at the extremely successful recent Martin Jetpack flight that went all the way to 5,000 feet, and the test of the ballistic recovery parachute system. If you've been sceptical about the potential of this compact VTOL, I think this video will soften you up a bit. Sure, they've still got a long way to go, but I think right now it's a lot more important to realize how far they've come.

 previous post: Mile High Fanny Pack! Martin Jetpack Reaches 5,000 Feet (+Video)

Mile High Fanny Pack! Martin Jetpack Reaches 5,000 Feet (+Video)

Martin Jetpack in a low flight with a real live person strapped in (all photos: Martin Jetpack)

(4 pix and 1 video)

 On May 21st 2011, the Martin Jetpack achieved some impressive results in a high altitude flight test, reaching a pretty staggering 5,000 feet! That's a massive leap compared to any other flight tests conducted so far. And, tho the low altitude test pictured above features a real live pilot, the high altitude test had Jetson, their in-house test dummy (somewhat like Myth Busters' Buster) strapped in, and the actual control duties were handled by RC pilot James Bowker, who was riding in a helicopter.

 And while your first thought might be that flying the Jetpack unmanned is a bit of a cop out, it's far from it. The unmanned configuration accomplishes the goal of remaining extremely safe in these days of pushing the flight envelope while also proving the UAV aspect of the Jetpack. Glenn Martin and his crew in New Zealand are exploring all the ways this unique aircraft can be used in a remotely piloted mode as well as the eventual goal of manned, recreational flight. 

Jetpack in UAV mode firing the Ballistic Recovery System after the high altitude test flight

 You still might struggle with the idea of calling a piston engine driving two ducted fans a 'Jetpack', and I understand your struggle... that's why I've moved on to the 'FannyPack' name... well at least part of the time. Some of the hardcore Rocketeers of the world might be frustrated that it isn't really jet-powered, but all things considered, and based on what I see in the video below, the Martin Jetpack is looking pretty impressive as a FannyPack : )

Click to read more ...

CoolPix: Was The F-15 Originally Intended To Land On Skids?

(click pic for hi-res)

 So, was the F-15 originally intended to land on skids? Well of course not. But then what's going on in this NASA pic from the mid 70's? It's actually an unmanned, Remotely Piloted Research Vehicle (RPRV) that's an un-powered, mostly fiberglass 3/8 scale model of the F-15. The RPRV was used to test the aerodynamics of the design at high angles of attack, as well as in stalls and in spins. The airplanes were launched from a B-52 similar to how the X-1 and X-15 were launched. 

 Three of these 3/8 sized F-15 models were built, and as you can imagine, they were an extremely cheap and safe way to expand the design's flight envelope and to examine the extreme aerodynamic behavior with very little risk. It's really interesting to me that the early flight tests were recovered in-the-air by some sort of helicopter capture system, after a parachute deployed on the RPRV (wish we had pix of that!), but later in the test phase they had fitted these toy F-15's with skids and landed them as seen in the pic above.

 Be sure to click the pic to check it out in the big CoolPix size. I think it looks pretty cool with its shadow fast approaching. And I wonder where these baby F-15's are today... I sure don't know, but I did find this pic from 1978 of the airplane mounted on a B-52 when it was on display during an open house at Edwards. If you're interested in seeing more B-52 launch platform pix, check out this page from the Goleta Air and Space Museum, and you can get the NASA details on the F-15 RPRV on this page. It's all pretty cool stuff : )

Video: The Phantom Works 'Phantom Ray' Phinally Phlies!

 Boeing's Phantom Works advanced prototyping unit recently flew the autonomous Phantom Ray, and based on the video here, all seems to have gone extremely well. The Phantom Ray is an outgrowth (or continuation) of the X-45C, which was actually a significantly altered X-45A. Confused? Don't feel bad... it's getting a little hard to keep up with all the projects these days that seem to do away with tails and pilots!

 Some of my biggest confusion comes in separating the Northrop Grumman X-47B from the Phantom Ray. However, telling the two apart is easier than is seems at first if you key in on one major difference. The X-47B, which first flew back in February (see post with video), has a wing design that resembles a diamond shaped blended body with swept outer panels added on. The X-47A predecessor didn't have these extensions, but they've proved to be a very important part of adding stability and controllability to the design. Also, these outer panels fold up to reduce the footprint of the aircraft. This is important because the X-47B is intended to eventually operate autonomously off of navy aircraft carriers.

Planform view of the Northrop Grumman X-47B  (photo: Northrop Grumman)

 The Phantom Ray on the other hand, has a more simplified wing shape that has the leading edge point (the aircraft's nose) run in a straight line all the way to each wingtip. So if you're looking to tell these two apart, check the leading line. Whatever you do, don't confuse either of these with the still mysterious Lockheed Martin RQ-170. Like I said, it's getting a little confusing keeping all these unmanned, untailed flying machines straight in your head!

The Phantom Ray from Boeing's Phantom Works  (photo: Boeing)

 Lastly, the Phantom Ray is being funded internally at Boeing and it's not specifically headed toward any operational opportunity. It looks like it's Boeing's way of keeping up on the fast growing technology that surrounds these autonomous, potential fighter aircraft of the future. This is probably a smart move if they have any hope of eventually getting a contract from Uncle Sam for this fast-growing segment. I must say that in the view above, that's one hot looking shape : )