This paper presents an overview of several missions that exploit the capabilities of a Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) aircraft propulsion system. LENR is a form of nuclear energy and potentially has over 4,000 times the energy density of chemical energy sources. It does not have any harmful emissions or radiation which makes it extremely appealing. The global reliance on crude oil for aircr...

Abstract High performance aircraft of the future will be designed lighter, more maneuverable, and operate over an ever expanding flight envelope. One of the largest differences from the flight control perspective between current and future advanced aircraft is elasticity. Over the last decade, dynamic inversion methodology has gained considerable popularity in application to highly maneuverable...

The direct operating costs and noise impacts of a wide variety of Externally Blown Flap and Augmentor Wing STOL short haul transport aircraft designs were evaluated to study the costs of noise reduction for these types of aircraft. The "two-stream" Augmentor Wing designs were found to be capable of the greatest noise reductions, and to have the lowest direct operating costs at all levels of noi...

The next generation (NextGen) transport aircraft configurations being investigated as part of the NASA Aeronautics Subsonic Fixed Wing Project have more control surfaces, or control effectors, than existing transport aircraft configurations. Conventional flight control is achieved through two symmetric elevators, two antisymmetric ailerons, and a rudder. The five control surfaces, reduced to th...

Preliminary note Numerical simulation procedures for landing dynamics of large transport aircraft are briefly presented. Developed numerical procedures allow for determination of dynamic response of landing aircraft for different flight and touch-down parameters. A non-linear dynamic model of landing aircraft, which serves as a basis for computational procedures, is synthesised by modelling of ...

Data pertaining to nonmotion factors affecting ride quality of transport aircraft have been obtained as part of NASA in-house and sponsored research studies carried out onboard commuter-airline and research aircraft. From these data, quantitative effects on passenger discomfort of seat width, seat legroom, change in cabin pressure, and cabin noise are presented. Visual cu_ effects are also disc...

Distributed propulsion and lightweight structures on transport aircraft pose a significant opportunity to meet next generation aircraft requirements including reduced fuel burn/emissions and enhanced takeoff/landing performance. The objective of this research is to conduct multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization to demonstrate a novel concept of flexible wing shaping aircraft using d...