National Flight Academy X-12 Triad

[Retired_for_now]

Here's a quicky intended for my niece who just spent a week flying (simulated, anyway) these during a week long session (Aviation in Residence program) at the National Flight Academy next to the National Naval Aviation Museum aboard NAS Pensacola ( National Flight Academy - Home ).

The aircraft is loosely based on several DARPA/USAF concepts for advanced tactical airlifters. Fast, jet (fighter types in charge just hate props!), stealthy, VTOL, etc. I don't have access to a good 3-D model and few photos are out there, but this should be close.





I'll eventually stick it in the downloads but the PDF is such a little file ...

Triad-NatFltAcad.pdf

For those who'd like to try designing - this was done strictly by eye. Use a top view (wings & fuselage) to draw a basic top and bottom. Add some simple detail bits for fuselage (rounded front and a little cut to allow it to curve up) and engines (a couple of squared channels). Then add some tails and you're in business.

Yogi

[mbauer]

Interesting look. Wonder how much down force the nose creates. Looks like a Duckbill Platepus...

Great looking model!

Mike

[Retired_for_now]

Aerodynamics would certainly be interesting - canard would be a lifting surface (remember - CG is forward of wing's center of lift for stability). Substantial lifting body effect would also be expected. However, vertical ops would mean some really intense mass flow downward under this thing (big airplane plus cargo weight) which would likely dig some pretty good holes in the ground and toss up a lot of junk for the engines to eat ... Fuel requirements and engine power to weight ratios would need to be pretty extreme also.
More artist's concept maybe?
Yogi

Posted the pdf in the download section also under contemporary military aviation.

[Paperwarrior]

Very interesting aircraft....ditto on your comments above. ....but good looking and fun.

Thanks, Jeff

[Retired_for_now]

Well, the frustrated fighter pilots (aren't we all?) teaching at the National Flight Academy would like their airplane on a stick for the obligatory hand-waving during their briefings (lessons?).

Sat down with the folks at NFA and looked at a few more screen captures to build this version:





It's as big as will fit on a sheet of letter sized paper/card. Still only 8 parts. Will run a dowel up the back and drop off a few (and the file) next time I'm out there. Should also be suitable for the students to make.

Yogi

[mbauer]

Interesting!

Forward swept wings?

Wonder how it would fly?

Mike

[Retired_for_now]

Mike, more of a big trapezoidal wing - almost a lifting body or flying wing. They claim it should fly based on the aeromodel in their simulation software (and some pretty fancy software it is). The canards can cover many evils as well. Tails look a little small for anything other than high speed flight, too.
Yogi

[TomW]

Yogi:

Any possibility of getting one of the forward wings [ both would be fine also ] posted to the forum???

TomW.

[Retired_for_now]

Tom, earlier version is the pdf in the first post. Waiting on a contact at the Flight Academy to take a look at this one.
Yogi

[jeffm]

My son has gone to NFA 2x now & loved it. This last time he took some nice photos of the Triads from the computer screen in several angles and modes of flight.
Did you ever hear back from your contact @ NFA about your version 2? I'd really like to get a copy of it. Wishing someone would make a wood/plastic/metal version of it.