US military interested in six-screw convertoplane
The original design, patented by inventor Richard Oliver, attracted the attention of the US Department of Defense. According to Richard, the military evaluated the Hexplane aircraft that he proposed, which was equipped with six screws.
Hexplane is a type of convertible, similar to the V-22 Osprey. But unlike the V-22, which is equipped with two rotary nacelles, the Hexplane has as many as six, which can significantly improve flight safety.
The convertoplane V-22 Osprey has many advantages over helicopters and airplanes. He has the possibility of vertical landing and take-off, but his speed is much higher compared with helicopters. However, there are drawbacks: if any of the two engines of the convertoplane fails, a catastrophe is inevitable, since the device loses stability almost instantly. At the same time, the loss of all 50% power of one of the engines also makes it impossible to continue flying, and in some cases it is required to land the device immediately. Also, V-22 Osprey is contraindicated for fast maneuvers, as the blades crack and collapse because of them, which makes it impossible to dodge enemy fire. All this does not allow the effective use of V-22 in combat conditions.
On the contrary, Hexplane can continue the flight after losing one or reducing the power of several engines at once. With the help of six engines creates a kind of ring thrust, the center of gravity of which is located near the center of the fuselage. Due to this, in case of unexpected loss of thrust from one of the engines or damage to its blades, the tiltrotor retains its stability.
Flight range and high speed, coupled with the high survivability of the Hexplane, make it an ideal, although quite expensive military vehicles. The calculations of Richard Oliver suggest that a six-screw tiltrotor that weighs 5.6 tons can be used to deliver about 450 kg of cargo to a distance of 1600 km, with a flight speed of 640 km / h.
It is worth noting that the presented characteristics fully meet the high speed requirements put forward by the defense research agency DARPA for an aircraft with vertical landing and take-off: speed around 700 km / h at 7.6 km altitude.
Hexplane is a type of convertible, similar to the V-22 Osprey. But unlike the V-22, which is equipped with two rotary nacelles, the Hexplane has as many as six, which can significantly improve flight safety.
The convertoplane V-22 Osprey has many advantages over helicopters and airplanes. He has the possibility of vertical landing and take-off, but his speed is much higher compared with helicopters. However, there are drawbacks: if any of the two engines of the convertoplane fails, a catastrophe is inevitable, since the device loses stability almost instantly. At the same time, the loss of all 50% power of one of the engines also makes it impossible to continue flying, and in some cases it is required to land the device immediately. Also, V-22 Osprey is contraindicated for fast maneuvers, as the blades crack and collapse because of them, which makes it impossible to dodge enemy fire. All this does not allow the effective use of V-22 in combat conditions.
On the contrary, Hexplane can continue the flight after losing one or reducing the power of several engines at once. With the help of six engines creates a kind of ring thrust, the center of gravity of which is located near the center of the fuselage. Due to this, in case of unexpected loss of thrust from one of the engines or damage to its blades, the tiltrotor retains its stability.
Flight range and high speed, coupled with the high survivability of the Hexplane, make it an ideal, although quite expensive military vehicles. The calculations of Richard Oliver suggest that a six-screw tiltrotor that weighs 5.6 tons can be used to deliver about 450 kg of cargo to a distance of 1600 km, with a flight speed of 640 km / h.
It is worth noting that the presented characteristics fully meet the high speed requirements put forward by the defense research agency DARPA for an aircraft with vertical landing and take-off: speed around 700 km / h at 7.6 km altitude.
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