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Robotic Aircraft To Supply Troops
Cowards Anonymous writes "PC World reports on a prototype driverless aircraft designed to shuttle hundreds of pounds of supplies to soldiers in war zones. Dubbed a flying Humvee by Frontline Aerospace's CEO, the robotic vehicle can fly 600 to 1,000 miles carrying a full cargo of 400 pounds. It's about the size of a large SUV, weighing in at 2,400 pounds and measuring 21 feet long and up to 26 feet wide."
Well, actually, that's a fairly conservative estimate...
"a person performing hard work in the sun at 43 degrees C requires 19 liters of water daily." http://www.aircav.com/survival/asch13/asch13p02.html
"A general guide for planning to meet the water requirements in an arid zone is 3-6 gallons per individual per day" http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/dphs/EQB/doc/Instructor%20Manual/L004LP%20Water%20Supply%20LP.doc
Interesting... Because most of them appear to be quite alive...
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
I worked on a UAV program in the 1980s (back when they were called RPVs.) We went through several iterations of wing configurations. Joined wings, of almost any configuration, had absolutely bizarre aerodynamic interactions near the intersections. It's very complicated to get right, and usually doesn't provide an overall benefit - one particular aspect, like max cruise speed, may be improved, but at the expense of *everything* else.
... with everything else. (The main site is slashdotted, so I'm working off an article from an Australian site.)
The wings on this aircraft don't seem designed for the mission profile described. Supporting forward infantry is a short-range low-speed mission profile. I expect the wings to have a low rake angle, and to be fairly chunky across the airfoil section. Low-speed wings are blunt and fat; high-speed wings are angled and skinny.
At best, this is an "artist's misconception" drawing. Avionics, engine and fuel are going in the fuselage, as there's no room internal to those wings for anything but structure. Where did the payload go? Oh, "inside"