Внимание! В воздухе...

High in the sky, on the background of powerful Cumulus clouds, strange object. Because of the great height it was difficult to judge his size. But the shape it undoubtedly was round, the surface gleamed with reddish highlights. "Stranger" slowly swam along the edge of the cloud.

Suddenly he abruptly leaned forward and increasing speed raced to the ground. Five seconds... Ten... Fifteen... the Rapid decline continued. And suddenly, when the ground was not more than a kilometer, an invisible force threw a mysterious device and circled him in a whirlwind of acrobatic figures...

What is it? Another "flying saucer"?

...If high-speed sport plane has a wing small elongation, the question of dynamic stability and control acquires a special role. Essentially, it depends on the success of flight operations. Security during takeoff and landing is one of the main and most difficult tasks.

The study of the required characteristics on the finished car is always risky and expensive. But those same characteristics can be obtained in another way - in flight for unpowered aircraft. In other words, the glider, which would represent a prototype of future aircraft. This method is cheaper and safer, repeatedly and without success in aviation. Used currently abroad, when the development of aircraft design, unusual aerodynamic designs.

For this purpose and was created in 1950 an experimental glider "Diskoplan-1". Its authors are young scientists and engineers-public. The glider had a wingspan of 3.5 m, wing area - 10 m2, gross weight - 230 kg; maximum aerodynamic quality - Kmah-7.

And now two words about the picture with which we started. There was nothing mysterious.

Master of gliding sports of the USSR Vladimir Ivanov conducted test diskoplana aerobatics.

What the test showed?

First of all, revealed the main distinguishing feature of wing-round - smooth flow around its air flow, which does not stop even at very high angles of attack, reaching a = 45°. Moreover, the lift of the wing is continuously growing (see graphs). It may be recalled that a conventional wing on a large scale the critical angle of attack has only the value a = 14-16°. Hence a very important feature of diskoplana: under any conditions of flight it breaks not into a tailspin. On reaching the maximum angle of attack is possible only steep, extremely stable parauterine. Interestingly, this mode is most safe. Then as gliders with the usual wings presyterian especially risky from the point of view of a possible failure into a tailspin.

During flight tests it was also found that the glider has good dynamic stability and controllability in all modes. Small moment of inertia of the wing and a powerful tail provide it a very high maneuverability. The performance figures of aerobatics and the margin of safety "Diskoplan-1" is defined as training acrobatic glider. It can be used to improve the skills of athletes-glider pilots who spetsializiruyutsya in flying aerobatics.

In 1962, at the start of testing out a new experimental glider - "Diskoplan-2". Round the wing it was designed and built without spars and ribs. The frame of the wing made a huge Bicycle wheel, the rim and the Central sleeve of which rascally steel piano wire d = 0,2 mm. offer percale double layered plating in combination with a wire grid forms the basis of bi-tapered wing profile. Acute duralumin socks around the circumference of the rim improves the aerodynamics and stability of the Glider, giving a supersonic wing profile finished look. The diameter of the wing - 5 m, load area - 20 m2, gross weight - 240 lbs. unit load on the wing minimum - 12 kg/m2. Control is by rudder and elevons acting as ailerons and Elevator.

A new glider found an interesting ability - the so-called effect of "air cushion". When planning the height on landing, the pilot feels that diskoplan as if sits on a "pillow" and automatically stabiliziruemost in the transverse and longitudinal directions. Then the unit can fly without the intervention of the pilot in control. And you can't force the glider to accelerate the landing until the flight speed is naturally not extinguish the effect of the "cushion" will not disappear. After that, diskoplan will land on their own - in three points. This is important because even the possibility of pilot error at the time of landing will not lead to unpleasant consequences.

According to foreign press ("Aviation Week", 15 August 1960), in recent years the number of major aviation firms, as well as the National Aeronautics and space administration (NASA) intensively studying the potential of disc-shaped aircraft to use them to move in orbits in space with subsequent return to the Earth. Such major aircraft companies as "Conveyor", "Boeing", "Lockheed", offer U.S. air force supersonic aircraft shaped. September 29, 1962 in the USA was launched Sputnik-diskoplan "Aluett", intended to study the ionosphere (the NASA project - Canada). It is expected to last 2 000 years.

One of the NASA employees said that the disc provides a very great opportunity to perform a number of tasks. He must have a lot of drag required for braking (at high angles of attack), yet a high value of aerodynamic efficiency (at low angles of attack) for maneuvering within the atmosphere. If the apparatus in the form of a disk will be able to provide easy management with systems that have fairly light weight and not very difficult, that such devices will significantly win in the competition with other designs.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»