Tag: Flight

Supersonic flight

A smaller development and test version is already flying and has just made its first supersonic flight. This is the Boom XB-1.

Image: Wikimedia

Science and technology – 2

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History

Most people know that Concorde was a joint UK/France development that resulted in a commercial supersonic passenger plane. It was technically successful and carried passengers across the Atlantic from 1976 until 2003, but for several reasons it was never commercially successful. There was also a Soviet version, the Tupolev Tu-144 that crashed spectacularly at the Paris Airshow in 1973.

But today, both Concorde and the Tu-144 are history.

Present development

Not so many readers will be aware of a commercial project to design and build a new supersonic passenger plane, or that a smaller development and test version is already flying and has just made its first supersonic flight. This is the Boom XB-1, specifically designed to cause less noise and, amusingly considering the company’s name, less transonic boom audible from the ground.

So far the project is going well; the test-flight program is well underway with promising results so far. The full-size airliner (Overture) would be substantially smaller than Concorde and carry fewer passengers, but if successful in service a larger model might be considered.

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Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

Unlike the normal multicopter drones we’re all familiar with, this one has some mobility on the ground.

Legs and feet are important

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No – it’s RAVEN – the Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments.

Larger view
(Wikimedia)

What will they think of next? The Scientific Journal Nature published an article about this amazing contraption, a fixed wing drone with legs. Like a bird it can walk, hop, and launch itself into the air with a jump. Legs and feet are important.

Unlike the normal multicopter drones we’re all familiar with, this one has some mobility on the ground and, like all fixed wing vehicles, is more energy-efficient in the air. It can’t hover, at least not yet. Hummingbirds and kestrels can hover though, so who knows what some future development of RAVEN might manage?

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome!