A novel hovering type of fixed wing aircraft with stealth capability

Abstract

The tactical need for fixed wing aircraft with hovering capably has long been recognized by the military for two reasons: increased safety when landing on aircraft carriers and higher velocities that the ones obtainable with rotary wing aircraft. Thus far, the only concept governing the field of vertical flight was to use thrust either from a lift fan-F35, puffer ducts –Harrier or smaller jet engines-D0 31 or Yak-141, i.e. direct lift thrust. In this paper we will look at the prospect of using a combination of the Coanda effect with the Venturi effect to generate lift by socalled “supercirculation”. This novel approach can yield many advantages to conventional vertical lifting by providing a more stable platform and requiring lower power settings – and thus lower fuel consumption. The aircraft has a fixed, negatively sweped wing that uses circulation control to achieve lift at zero air speed. The fluid used for supercirculation will come from the fan thrust reversers – which, if correctly managed, can give a sufficient flow for lifting the craft and also a negative thrust component to compensate for the positive thrust of the primary flow (not diverted).