Wind Tunnel Experimental Evaluation of HEDWIG: A High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing Blended Wing Body Aircraft powered by Fluidic Propulsion and Uppers Surface Blown Technology

The DoD released their stated capabilities request for a High-Speed Vertical/Short Take-off and Landing (HSV/STOL) aircraft that is safe, silent, reliable, inexpensive and fuel/energy efficient. In Phase I of this proposed program, Jetoptera has demonstrated that their innovative propulsion system called Fluidic Propulsive System (FPS), when combined with the Upper Surface Blowing (USB) Flaps on a wing, generates high levels of lift and equivalent hovering efficiencies, on par or better than a tilt wing aircraft, while eliminating propellers, provided that a minimum head wind velocity exists. Phase I geometry limitations in the wind tunnel prevented Jetoptera to obtain a fully VTOL performance estimate, however this can be easily achieved in a Phase II by a change in design. Using lift augmentation capability, the FPS can now be embedded within the wings of a high Lift to Drag (L/D) aircraft such as a blended-wing body (BWB) architecture, generating considerable lift augmentation without the limitations and noise typically associated with rotary wing aircraft.  We propose the wind tunnel test of a 40% scale of a 500 lbs VTOL BWB model equipped with a 3-in-1, FPS-enabled propulsor, working with the wing and flaps to generate lift augmentation in vertical and low speed phases of flight but retracting into the wing to boost lift and minimize drag at high speeds while using direct jets for propulsion. We teamed up again with the University of Washington Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics/Astronautics to use the state-of-the-art Kirsten wind tunnel and accurately characterize the potential of the BWB model using an Upper Surface Blown Wing and Flaps, where the FPS supplies the wall jets over the wing, enabling V/STOL and retracted to minimize drag in high speed with minimum power requirements. The work under this award will quantify the potential of the FPS to enable the deployment of a unique, HSV/STOL BWB generation of aircraft. In the research plan, compressed air at different flow rates and pressures will be fed into the model with the FPS installed in it and tested under different flight conditions in the Kirsten wind tunnel. The data collected will provide figures of merit to demonstrate the potential for the FPS and USB to be enable a High-Speed VTOL aircraft with 400 knots cruise and Low Probability of Detection capabilities.