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Lockheed Tests A Folding Plane
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Dallas Morning News
June 15, 2005

Lockheed Tests A Folding Plane

Built in Fort Worth, unmanned craft would hover, morph, strike

By Katie Fairbank, The Dallas Morning News

PARIS – Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. is building a prototype pilotless aircraft in Fort Worth with wings that fold up like a paper airplane.

The unmanned aerial vehicle promises to look like something out of a sci-fi flick.

The goal of the "hunter killer" project is to produce an aircraft suitable for hovering around for surveillance, which can then change shape and dash off to shoot at a target.

The idea originated after a Lockheed customer involved in the current conflict in Iraq said he was interested in a drone that could zip in quickly enough to neutralize a target before it disappeared.

That intrigued engineers at Lockheed Martin's famed research and development unit, known as the "Skunk Works," and within months they had developed a Morphing UAV.

Engineers first tried to field a test version last year at Edwards Air Force Base in California, but it hit a berm and cracked up its landing gear, slowing down testing as they waited for a replacement.

" 'Just in time delivery' means after you use it there are no more," joked Frank Cappuccio, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's advanced development programs and the Skunk Works.

But the parts have now been replaced, and the vehicle, which is about 15 feet from wing tip to wing tip, will flight-test in the desert in about three weeks.

"For the first flight we'll keep the wings locked and expand to Mach speed to validate the flight controls," said Mr. Cappuccio at the Paris Air Show, the world's largest trade show for the aerospace, aviation and defense industries. "We'll be in flight-test for about six months before we fold the wings."

So far, the concept is being funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an arm of the Defense Department, as part of a Morphing Aircraft Structures Program that began in 2003.

Lockheed Martin will pick up the tab for the landing gear mishap.

"They don't pay us to crash things. It's on our own nickel," said Mr. Cappuccio.

Usually defense companies don't like to talk much about their experimental projects, and much of the program is classified.

Lockheed declined to say how many people work on the Morphing UAV in Fort Worth. But the company decided to allow Mr. Cappuccio to explain some of its concepts under development at a briefing here.

After flight-testing, next up will be development of the shaped-memory polymer skins. The skins begin changing in shape when an activator, such as heat, is triggered. Position sensors and stopping mechanisms guarantee the right shape.

"If we can solve the flying, we'll put more research in the polymer. There's no sense in the United States government spending $15 million to $25 million for materials yet," Mr. Cappuccio said.

Morphing wings are the latest in a long list of airplane parts that change design during operation. For instance, there are variable sweep wings, as well as retractable landing gear and flaps all moving throughout flight and landing. But Lockheed's new test vehicle takes design changes to a new level by totally altering the plane's look.

Skunk Works hopes to take the concept even further and is working on ways to launch the UAV from the missile silos of decommissioned Trident subs.

This idea involves shooting the UAV out of the silo to do its mission and then having it dive into the water to return to the submarine for reloading.

DARPA is also funding this aspect of the Morphing UAV program with U.S. Navy support. Testing should begin in six to nine months.

Challenges to the concept include whether Lockheed can figure out how to successfully capture the UAV and pull it back into the submarine. A watertight airframe and adequate seals to protect the propulsion system also are needed.

"The engine people wouldn't buy into us rinsing the engine," Mr. Cappuccio.

Mr. Cappuccio says he knows that a submarine-launched UAV sounds farfetched, but he's willing to have his engineers work on it anyway.

"We have a different approach. We say it's OK to dream," he said.

there was artwork of the folding plane in Av-Week or Pop-Mech several weeks ago.
The sub launched vehicle was on a special LockMart sight I found some months ago, but cant find it now.

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<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> Aeronautical Engineering

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Contractors to Test Morphing Wings
Aviation Week & Space Technology
05/23/2005, page 72


Patrick A. Toensmeier
Arlington, Va.



Morphing structures could bring multi-role capabilities to next-generation aircraft


Radical Departure

Two prototypes of a wing that changes shape radically in flight will undergo structural and aerodynamic testing in July and August by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa). These "morphing" wings--the next step beyond traditional variable-geometry wings that change position mechanically--are in development by Lockheed Martin and Hypercomp/NextGen as part of Darpa's Morphing Aircraft Structures (MAS) program. The objective of the program is to develop technology for a new generation of military aircraft that achieves significant multi-role capabilities through the use of morphing components.

The tests will take place at NASA's Langley Research Center and Dryden Flight Research Center. If successful, Darpa may designate a single contractor to design, build and flight test a half-scale, unmanned technology demonstrator--a MAS X-plane--says Terry A. Weisshaar, Darpa's program manager.

THE PROGRAM IS in its second phase of operation. In Phase I, contractors designed, built and tested components and subassemblies for wings that could expand by more than 150% and operate at low and transonic speeds. Funding for Phase II totals almost $19 million, with Lockheed and Hypercomp receiving near-equal shares.

<img src="http://img158.echo.cx/img158/3435/morphstages4yu.jpg" border=0>

Morphing wings can be adjusted for different flight requirements. Wings are fully extended (left) to generate lift for low-power takeoff, or to permit aircraft to loiter. When fully retracted (right), wing configuration yields high-speed capability and increased agility.Credit: LOCKHEED MARTIN CONCEPT

The concept of morphing structures is, of course, nothing new in aircraft design. A U.S. patent was issued as far back as 1916 for a variable-geometry wing. Darpa's program, however, taps into advances in materials and control technologies made during the past decade that have the potential to create wings capable of changing surface area by as much as 300%.


Wing concept fabricated of shape-memory polymer can be rolled up to save space, activated and unfurled for deployment (clockwise from top), then rolled up again.Credit: CORNERSTONE RESEARCH GROUP

An important element of this performance is a special material called shape-memory polymer (SMP), which is being evaluated for the wing skins. SMP is molecularly engineered to revert to its original shape after manipulation to a different configuration. The material is initially fabricated in a rigid or high-modulus form, its "memory" shape. When activated by heat, high-frequency light or electricity, SMP becomes a low-modulus elastomer that can be stretched, by actuators and special controls, into a different shape. When exposed again to the activation mechanism, the polymer returns to its high-modulus form.

Morphing wings promise radically improved loiter and dash capabilities and aerial maneuvers. Proponents think they will permit low-powered vehicles to take off from short runways and extend flight range by maximizing fuel efficiency. A cruise missile with morphing structures, for example, would be able to travel at "drastically higher speeds" to a target, says Weisshaar, loiter to see if the target has already been destroyed and proceed quickly to a new target if necessary. A slow hunter-killer vehicle like the Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) would achieve high-speed capabilities and greater agility with morphing wings, and be able to engage enemy aircraft, achieving what Weisshaar terms "extremely lethal persistence near targets."

Darpa is testing the technology for unmanned air vehicles. It could be applied to piloted aircraft in the future. Lockheed Martin is developing a concept vehicle with morphing wings, inlets, nozzles and fuselage for manned aircraft as well as UAVs. Shape-memory polymers would also be used in non-wing components. Brian Sanders, adaptive structures team leader at the Air Force Research Laboratories, which oversees Morphing Aircraft Structures contractors, says the program is looking at applying morphing wings to aircraft weighing 15,000 to 20,000 lb., with wingspans of 20 to 30 ft.

The MAS program may help redefine the role of tactical aircraft in the future. With unconventional warfare on the rise and many combat targets becoming smaller, widely distributed and protected by sophisticated air defenses, UAVs with multi-role capabilities may be more effective and economical at dealing with these threats than conventional aircraft. "This is not just technology but mission development," says Sanders of the program. "We're concerned with what this technology will buy us from an operational perspective."

Morphing components can withstand a high number of shape changes, says Ernie Havens, chief engineer of Cornerstone Research Group Inc., SMP supplier for the program. Though there is no firm data on how many cycles a morphing wing can undergo before it might need replacement, Havens estimates the number is at least in the hundreds. Tests so far involve what he terms "low-frequency" morphing--shape change occurring an average of 10 times per mission with several minutes between changes.

<img src="http://img115.echo.cx/img115/7/morphfolded4yb.jpg" border=0>

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics plans to fly this jet-powered drone at Dryden Flight Research Center to test morphing-wing aerodynamics. It does not have shape-memory polymer skin.

Just how many cycles a morphing wing can go through will be key to the breadth of aircraft types to which it could be applied, of course. But Weisshaar says the research at this point is on more basic matters: "Right now, we are concerned about simple operability and structural integrity demonstrations in the wind tunnel environment."

<img src="http://img115.echo.cx/img115/5108/morphextended9ih.jpg" border=0>

Wings tucked on the fuselage may disturb airflow.Credit: LOCKHEED MARTIN AERONAUTICS

CRITICAL TO THE SHAPE change of morphing wings (or other components) is the seamless integration of activator, actuators, sensors and locking mechanisms with the software and power supply that control them. In morphing a wing, the activator (heat, for example) initiates shape change. The rate of change and force necessary to effect it is done with actuators, which slide to expand or contract the wing in flight. Position sensors and stopping mechanisms guarantee the right shape. Wings can be designed to morph in chord, span and thickness.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics plans to use thermal polymer actuators to fold the wings. This material expands when heated and is formed into a helical actuator to apply torque along the hinge line. It can lock the wing in intermediate positions as the plastic solidifies when cooled.

One aspect of morphing technology that will have far-reaching impact is design. Havens says the functionality of SMP is "counterintuitive" to many engineers. Aircraft designers will need to move from working with fixed structures and materials with constant properties to complex structures and materials with variable properties, he notes.

Aircraft are not the only focus of morphing structures. Work is underway on satellites and other space vehicles that can benefit from the technology. One potential application that Cornerstone is working on with the Air Force and NASA is development of orbital mirrors that collect solar energy for conversion to electricity. In this design, the mirrors are mounted within a morphable membrane on an articulating arm that morphs into a folded shape for launch. Once in orbit, the membrane and arm are activated and revert to their open shapes for deployment.

To test aerodynamics, Lockheed Martin has built a drone it hopes to fly at Dryden in June (photos at top of page). Expanding the wings increases effective area 2.8 times. It is powered by a 44-lbf.-thrust jet engine and does not have SMP skin or thermal polymer actuators. Instead, the actuators are geared motors and there are gaps at the hinge joints. One topic of interest is unsteady flow caused by the inboard wing folded against the fuselage.

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

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