Questions tagged [aerospace-engineering]
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the research, design, development, construction, and testing of aircraft and spacecraft.
285
questions
12
votes
4
answers
867
views
Is interference between aircraft an issue for fly-by-wireless technology?
I was reading up on fly-by-wire development, and I saw a short section about fly-by-wireless technology. It seems like a great idea, with the potential to lower costs, weight and complexity. I can see ...
- 2,485
4
votes
4
answers
816
views
Do all supersonic airliners have a high angle of attack when landing?
The Concorde had a famously high angle of attack (and pitch angle) when landing. This led to its famous droop nose:
The Concorde's Russia counterpart, the Tupolev Tu-144, had the same issue.
These ...
- 2,485
11
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Would a "lifting body" design be useful for a train car?
Lifting Body
The idea of a lifting body design is to shape a vehicle's body in such a way as to produce lift without wings. Research has shown that this can be an efficient method of reducing drag ...
- 10.7k
6
votes
2
answers
207
views
Could adding extra engines to AMELIA disrupt airflow from the other engines?
AMELIA is the product of a partnership between NASA and the California Polytechnic State University. One of its innovations is circulation control. An engine is mounted over each wing, and high ...
- 2,485
2
votes
1
answer
179
views
Which material is most efficient for the skin of a solar balloon?
Quoting from the Wikipedia article:
A solar balloon is a balloon that gains buoyancy when the air inside is heated by the sun's radiation, usually with the help of black or dark balloon material. ...
6
votes
1
answer
130
views
Do regulations in the United States limit the size of aerial wind turbines?
What with all the work done by the FAA recently on regulating drone usage, I thought it would be nice to turn my eyes to the sky for another, less-known type of aerial denizen: the aerial wind turbine....
- 2,485
10
votes
2
answers
927
views
How are wind tunnel models used when designing supersonic aircraft?
There are two things involved: wave drag and boundary layer separation. The wave drag depends on the Mach number while the latter depends on the Reynolds number of the flow. It's easy to maintain the ...
- 1,413
2
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Can superhydrophobic surfaces be used to reduce drag?
I am mainly interested in reducing drag in aircraft and I have an idea that I want to learn more about...
Can a superhydrophobic coating reduce drag in water-craft such as boats and submarines?
If ...
- 31
10
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Could air-launched space planes reach escape velocities?
Rockets like the Ariane 5 weigh hundreds of tons, but with about 85% of that weight being fuel, the payload fraction is only about 3% (~10-20 tons).
Virgin Galactic is building suborbital space ...
2
votes
2
answers
630
views
Possible Hazards of Software Controlled Systems (Ex. Airline GPS/Elevator)?
I am currently reading through a book on Software Engineering principles, with a lot of the content having to do with proper approaches to software development methodologies and project management ...
- 139
20
votes
6
answers
17k
views
How to make smoke for a small wind tunnel?
I am making a small (desktop) wind tunnel for educational purposes, I want to have 10 fairly thick smoke-streams about 3cm apart. I have experimented with incense but the stream is not thick enough ...
- 5,970
6
votes
1
answer
159
views
Did Otto Lilienthal ever experiment with non-human-powered aircraft?
Otto Lilienthal, sometimes hailed as the first aviator, became famous for his many gliders, which pioneered new experiments in aeronautics. However, powered aircraft didn't take off - pun intended - ...
- 2,485
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What is the effect of changing the angle of a helicopter flybar?
A helicopter flybar is a kind of gyroscopic stabilizer which acts in feedback to the pitch of the blades. The effect, in words, is that as the helicopter starts to pitch or roll in a particular ...
- 6,436
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What are the engineering challenges in WIG craft development?
Wind In Ground (WIG), is an old concept.
In short: Wing-tip vortices create an additional drag on the aircraft known as the induced drag. However, when the flying craft (or bird) flies close to the ...
- 1,413
3
votes
1
answer
130
views
Are there any specific plans for the other parts of the 747s scavenged to make the Stratolaunch carrier aircraft?
I'm not sure quite how many people are familiar with the Stratolaunch project, so I'll give a quick summary.
Paul Allen and Burt Rutan (of Scale Composites) teamed up a few years ago to create a ...
- 2,485