Aircraft Gets X-plane Designation

[unhappycamper]

Aircraft Gets X-plane Designation
October 21, 2009
Air Force Print News|by Derek Kaufman

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio - Air Force officials have approved X-55A as the new designation for the Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft.

The X-55A is a technology demonstrator for the design and manufacturing of future aircraft using advanced composite materials. The X-55A is a modified Dornier 328J aircraft with the fuselage aft of the crew station and the vertical tail removed and replaced with completely new structural designs. These designs are made from composites using new out-of-autoclave curing techniques. The test platform contains some 600 accelerometers and stress gauges.

The aircraft's first flight was June 2, 2009, at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif.

"We're extremely proud to have been awarded X-designation," said Barth Shenk, X-55A program manager with the Air Force Research Laboratory's Air Vehicle Directorate. "We hope to take this testing to the next phase to further mature our understanding of composite materials, how they behave in flight and how they age. This effort may drastically change the way we manufacture future military and civilian aircraft."

The strength, light weight, ease of manufacture and corrosion resistance are just some of the composite materials characteristics Air Force officials want to use the X-55A to explore, Mr. Shenk said.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/air-force-news/aircraft-gets-xplane-designation.html



unhappycamper comment: The last cargo aircraft, the C-17 cost $218 million a pop. I wonder how much the X-55 is going to cost.

Want to see $2.398 billion of your taxpayer dollars at work? Here ya go:

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

1. You're missing the forest for the trees.

"The X-55A is a technology demonstrator" ...

The point of the program is to test performance of the composite construction method of the aircraft.
The program is not ultimately about creating a continuing aircraft platform based off the X-55A aircraft design.

If this new construction technique proves economically feasible, it can be used in commercial aircraft as well.
For example, a lighter boeing passenger airliner means less fuel, cheaper flights, and less pollution.
THAT is what $2.398 billion taxpayer dollars is working to accomplish - a new method of constructing aircraft.

[unhappycamper]

2. The $2.398 billion taxpayer dollars is in the picture I posted. (11 C-17s)

Do you seriously think the M-I-C is interested in research for the sake of research? BTW, the company doing the work is Fairchild - the same folks who brought you the A-10 Warthog. You know, the one that shoots a 30mm depleted uranium round.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

6. What does the A-10 warthog have to do with anything?

Structurally speaking, the A-10 is a phenomenal aircraft. (Personally my favorite)
Did you know that the entire aircraft was designed around the GAU-8 cannon?
As in they attached a plane to a gun, so to speak. B-)

Thank you for the correction on the taxpayer cost... I was under the impression that the particular program was ~$2.4B

The company is interested in research because of the money. It's a business and they make their money doing experimental research. Many technological advances that benefit the public sector were pioneered by the Navy, Airforce, and NASA. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Fairchild, McDonnell Douglas... most of their work eventually trickles into the public sector. IMO, no matter how you dice it, research is good for the technological advancement of mankind. But research is expensive... and a good portion of the defense budgets everyone complains about is research. I'm not going to complain about where the research comes from as long as it can benefit people everywhere.

Regardless of why Fairchild is doing the research, the design implications of the aircraft are simply awesome:
"Compared to the original metallic components, the composite structure uses
approximately 300 structural parts versus 3,000 metallic parts for the original
components and approximately 4,000 mechanical fasteners compared to 40,000."

[unhappycamper]

7. I was just reminding folks what Fairchild has done lately.

As part of the M-I-C they must be next up for a big contract. Does that sound cynical? I sure hope it does.

[brendan120678]

3. I love that C-17 photo...

I used to have that one as my computer desktop at work when I worked for Pratt & Whitney.

[unhappycamper]

4. I copied that pic from the wikipedia C-17 entry. n/t

[brendan120678]

5. I think officially it is a DOD photo...

if I remember the USAF has a large photo depository on their website and I think that's where I found it when I had it on my computer.