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Aviation History
1978
1978 - 0714.PDF
MBB and VFW-Fokker propose the straked-delta-plus-tailplane formula for the TKF. Right Dornier suggests the radical Rautenflugel worlds. Virtually everything has been tried, including dihedral foreplanes, direct side-force vanes, moving wing tips used as ailerons or for fuselage aiming or direct lift control, and movable strakes to position the vortex more accurately. The most popular configuration is a moderate delta with a long fuselage strake ahead of it and a lightly swept tail- plane. The wing would have automatically controlled "slotless slats" and trailing-edge Fowler flaps whose outer hinge fairings would also form weapon pylons, fences and, possibly, actuator housings for movable wing tips. It goes without saying that fly-by-wire and electronic flight control would be needed to counter the natural pitch-up tendency of the strake/delta and to position the flaps for maximum performance. Beyond fuselage aiming lies post-stall control, by which the aircraft is made to respond to control after airspeed has fallen below the CLmax point. If the attitude can be controlled well into the stall zone, the high thrust: weight ratio will restore speed and let the aircraft "cut the corner" when pursuing an enemy aircraft. While MBB and VFW.-Fokker substantially agree on the basic configuration and the best control options to meet the requirements of I he future European air battle, Dornier has gone its own way and developed a radically different aerodynamic solution, the Rautenflugel, which is being exhibited at the Hanover air show in model form. Rautenflugel is a slot wing or staggered-biplane layout. Both wings have manoeuvre flaps and are joined at the tips and by pylon/side-force controls. Since January, Dornier has been studying new fighter technology jointly with Northrop. MBB has for some time had a similar agreement with McDonnell Douglas. Casa C-101 MBB designed and manufactured the rear fuselage and tail of four prototypes and two static test airframes of this Spanish light trainer, but is not partici pating in production. Skyservant In production for a decade now, the Dornier Skyservant continues to sell steadily, with the 15 aircraft of Lot 16 scheduled for 1978 already sold. Six are going to a US tourist operator, but the main sales area is Africa. The German Luftwaffe received 101 Skyservants between 1970 and 1974 and the German Navy 20. Three specially equipped examples continue to collect earth-resources data over Germany for the national aerospace research estab lishment DFVLR. A total of 240 has been sold to 23 coun tries, and all of the DM5-4 million original launch aid has been repaid to the government. Current price is about $450,000. Turbo Skyservant To be revealed at the Hanover air show, the Turbo Skyservant combines the traditional air- FLICHT International, 29 April 1978 frame with Lycoming LTP101-600 turboprops flat-rated at 400 s.h.p. each. With generally the same weights, the Turbo offers a hefty increase in cruising speed to 208 m.p.h., a service ceiling increased to 30,800ft and a single- engined service ceiling nearly doubled to 17,100ft. The take-off run is shortened by some 30ft to 850ft, but the range with external tanks is reduced from 1,785 miles to 1,430. No decision has been taken yet on production. TNT Tragfliigel Neuer Technologic Dornier is now manu facturing integrally machined wing panels for this new- technology business-aircraft wing and will fly it on a modi fied Skyservant in March 1979. The German Government is paying 70 per cent of the cost under the ZTL future- technology programme. Total cost should be DM12-5 million, about £3-3 million. The TNT wing has a Dornier A-5 profile comparable with that of the Nasa GA(W)-1, but a slightly sharper nose radius, less camber and reduced thickness/chord ratio in order to reduce the moment of rotation and therefore trim drag. Dornier has also developed cambered tips of tri angular planform which greatly reduce induced drag and root bending moment. The new wing will be combined with two 715 s.h.p. Garrett TPE331-5 turboprops and be mounted on a Sky servant fuselage stretched by 1 • 77m, 5 • 8ft. The low- mounted engine outriggers are removed and a fixed nose- wheel undercarriage replaces the former fixed tailwheel system. Gross weight is 9,9001b. Main data for the wing are: area, 288ft2; span, 55ft 7in; aspect ratio, 9; mean aerodynamic chord, 6ft 7in; thick ness/chord ratio, 16 per cent reducing to 13 per cent at tip; outer wing dihedral, 4°; incidence, 2-2°; twist, —3°; main spar at 17 per cent chord; rear spar at 60 per cent chord; maximum thickness, 40 per cent chord; nose radius, 1 • 25 per cent; max camber at 72 • 5 per cent chord. Compared with a theoretical 15-seat conventional Sky servant, the TNT-winged 15-seater could have a 1,3201b higher gross weight for the same single-engined climb gradient, a 30 per cent increase in payload and a range increased from 124 miles to 620 miles. Single-engined per formance is improved and noise during the approach reduced. The ailerons can droop 10° as the single-slotted Fowler flaps extend to 40°. Operating cost could be reduced, says Dornier, by 40 per cent. Dornier determined that, for executive/commuter-sized aircraft, the cheapest wing structure was an integrally machined box, and the first panels are now coming off the big numerically con trolled mills at the Neuaubing factory. The inbord leading edges will be metal, but the structure aft of the box, out board leading edges and tips are to be of plastic. Tankage will be integral. LTA Light Transport Aircraft Based on the TNT wing experiment with a modified Skyservant, a new 19-pas- senger, turboprop-powered transport aircraft with T-tail and retractable nosewheel undercarriage has been pro jected by Dornier. A go-ahead decision depends to some
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