BAE Systems and The University of Manchester have developed and tested a unique UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) designed to test an innovative flight control technology that could enable future aircraft to maneuver without the use of control surfaces such as ailerons, flaps or tails.
Instead, supersonic air streams are blown from the jet engine over the trailing edge and nozzle to control the flight. These new control methods remove the conventional need for complex, mechanical moving parts used to move flaps to control the aircraft during flight.
According to the developers, this could give greater control as well as reduce weight and maintenance costs, allowing for lighter, stealthier, faster and more efficient military and civil aircraft in the future. To test the new concept the team developed the MAGMA, a small jet-powered UAV that will use a unique blown-air system to maneuver the aircraft.
Further flight trials are planned for the coming months to demonstrate the novel flight control technologies with the ultimate aim of flying the aircraft without any moving control surfaces or fins. If successful, the tests will demonstrate the first ever use of such circulation control in flight on a gas turbine aircraft and from a single engine, paving the way for future, stealthier aircraft designs.
