NASA's GL-10 Goes Vertical

No, this picture is not photoshoped.  That really is a drone aircraft with 10 engines installed.

This strange beast is the NASA GL-10 or Greased Lightening and before you ask the question

"is NASA crazy?" I have to explain that those engines on the GL-10 are electric and they have such a radical amount of torque that the plane can haul itself off the ground straight up!

Brought to us by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, this wild unmanned drone has only a 10 foot wingspan which means it has lift, speed and maneuverability in excess.  One feature that being incorporated into the GL-10 test bed is extended range.  Greased Lightening is a hybrid instead of a pure electric.  GL's fuselage contains two small 8 hp diesel engines pushing alternators which charge the engine's batteries.  This cuts down on battery weight without the sacrificing range. 

Read the complete article in Extreme Tech HERE 

 

Grasshopper Leaps to 820 Feet

And of course, Space X is not sitting on its' thumbs either. Test flights of the VTOL system designation "Grasshopper" continues to operate in a stellar fashion. Space X's Grasshopper out did its March 7th flight by flying to 820 feet, tripling the performance of March 7th flight. Check out the video of Grasshopper's latest test flight.

NASA Considering single person flight suit

Personal flight has been at the heart of all innovation in flying. Tim Sayell sends in an article in the New York Times detailing a hybrid of vertical take of planes, helicopters and a wee bit of jetpack. Called the Puffin, it is still in the theoretical stage at NASA. The Puffin is designed to be 12 feet in length, with a total wingspan of 14 and a half feet; it would weigh in at 300 pounds. The major difference between the Puffin and personal jetpacks is the Puffin's helicopter-style blades powered by electric motors.



Click here for complete NY Times article