Every aircraft is a compromise. It is either built to fly fast or slow to land in tight distances and carry more weight. It is a jet or propeller driven craft. It costs a lot with high tech materials or it is simplistic and has less performance. Aircraft are built for many reasons, each one maybe more or less important for its intended purpose. Some aircraft are made to slightly change in flight to serve a niche or a couple of niches better than comparable type aircraft. As we learn more about our options of materials in aerospace we learn of was to incorporate multiple uses and still maintain safety at low airspeeds and efficiency at high speeds. I propose an inflatable wing camber modification system for modern day fighter aircraft to save on fuel and increase range. By increasing the lift on take off where much fuel is used we can increase the range of fighter aircraft in the battlespace while simultaneously increasing the payloads of smart munitions to kill, annihilate and destroy the enemy to serve our political will. Smile in preemption, it is about winning. The system would be recessed into two-inch deep areas on the wings. Consider the landing speeds of an F-104, consider the ability to decrease the weight of the landing gear and size of tires to increase payloads. Consider the ware and tear and maintenance costs, which would be saved? Consider the slow speed changes in flight characteristic and decreased safety risks in shorter take off and landing rolls. The performance changes would also vastly assist in close air support or carrier landing handling. For UAVs the performance would allow additional time loitering in the battlespace with increased range and slow flight speeds would allow for better imagery to identify targets before eliminating them from this time period. Think on these concepts. |
