Rockwell-MBB X-31
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| X-31 | |
|---|---|
 The X-31 aircraft returns from a test flight for VECTOR. |
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| Type | Experimental |
| Manufacturer | Rockwell Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm |
| Maiden flight | 1990 |
| Primary users | DARPA NASA |
| Number built | 2 |
The collaborative U.S.-German Rockwell-MBB X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability program was designed to test fighter thrust vectoring technology. Thrust vectoring allows the X-31 to fly in a direction other than where the nose is pointing, resulting in significantly more maneuverability than most conventional fighters. An advanced flight control system provides controlled flight at high angles of attack where conventional aircraft would stall.
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[edit] History
Two X-31s were built, and over 500 test flights were carried out between 1990 and 1995. The X-31 featured fixed strakes along the aft fuselage, as well as a pair of movable computer-controlled canards to increase stability and maneuverability. There are no horizontal tail surfaces, only the vertical fin with rudder. Pitch and yaw are controlled by the three paddles directing the exhaust (thrust vectoring). Eventually, simulation tests on one of the X-31s showed that flight would have been stable had the plane been designed without the vertical fin, because the thrust-vectoring nozzle provided sufficient yaw and pitch control.
During flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst maneuver" after Dr. Wolfgang Herbst, an MBB employee and proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat.[1] Herbst was the designer of the Rockwell SNAKE, which formed the basis for the X-31.[2]
In the mid-1990s, the program began to revitalize and a $53 million VECTOR program was initiated capitalizing on this previous investment. VECTOR is a joint venture that includes the US Navy, Germany’s defense procurement agency BWB, Boeing's Phantom Works, and the European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Company in Ottobrunn, Germany. As the site for the flight testing, Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland was chosen. From 2002 to 2003, the X-31 flew extremely short takeoff and landing approaches first on a virtual runway at 5,000 feet in the sky, to ensure that the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System accurately guides the aircraft with the centimeter accuracy required for on the ground landings. The program then culminated in the first ever autonomous landing of a manned aircraft with high angle of attack (24 degree) and short landing. The technologies involved a differential GPS System based on pseudolite technology from Integrinautics, California, and a miniaturized flush air data system from Nordmicro, Germany.
[edit] Serial numbers
- BuNo 164584, 67 flights Crashed January 19, 1995 north of Edwards AFB, CA
- BuNo 164585, 292 flights. Now on display at Oberschleißheim museum (part of Deutsches Museum)
[edit] Specifications (X-31)
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General characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Length: 44 ft 4 in (13.2 m)
- Wingspan: 23 ft 10 in (7.3 m)
- Height: 14 ft 5 in (4.4 m)
- Wing area: 226 ft² (21 m²)
- Empty weight: 10,214 lb (4,633 kg)
- Loaded weight: 13,969 lb (6,336 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 13,969 lb (6,336 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× General Electric F404-GE-400 turbofan, 16,000 lbf (71 kN)
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 1.28 @ 35,000 ft (975 mph / 1,550 km/h)
- Service ceiling 40,000 ft (12,200 m)
- Rate of climb: 715 ft/s (218 m/s)
- Wing loading: 62 lb/ft² (300 kg/m²)
[edit] References
- ^ Smith, R. E.; Dike, B. A.; Ravichandran, B.; El-Fallah, A.; Mehra, R. K. (2001). "Discovering Novel Fighter Combat Maneuvers in Simulation: Simulating Test Pilot Creativity" (PDF). . United States Air Force Retrieved on 2007-01-16.
- ^ "Partners in Freedom: Rockwell-MBB X-31." Langevin, G. S.; Overbey, P. NASA Langley Research Center. October 17, 2003.
[edit] Gallery
 Rockwell-MBB X-31 at flight |
 A diagram of the Herbst maneuver |
 Rear view of the X-31 in Oberschleißheim |
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
[edit] External links
- NASA Dryden: X-31
- James Schombert's X-Plane history
- NASA X-31 image gallery
- Flap Splitting and Setting of the X-31 Wing
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