Concept Heli-plane

(Structure, design and working)

Topic: Aero Structures
- Aravind Pradhyumnan & Manish Nahar
Concept: Our general idea is to create a modern aircraft that
can take off and land in any kind of landscape without the
requirement of a runway, at the same time making it very safe
and improving its efficiency.
This concept for the structure of this aircraft extends the blended
wing body design and incorporates the use of rotors fitted in the
wings. All the structural parts and control surfaces help improving
the overall efficiency of the plane.

Design: The design is intended to improve airplane efficiency

through a major change in the airframe configuration. This is done
by basing the design on a Blended Wing Body (BWB) model and
the Great Swingback Wing model. Our design is also partially
inspired by the B2 stealth bomber. The fuselage and the wings
appear monolithic and blend neatly. The thick centerbody
accommodates passengers and cargo without the extra wetted area
and weight of a fuselage. This enables the entire craft to contribute
to lift generation with the result of potentially increased fuel
efficiency and range.

The main structure is based around a centrally placed

spinal thrust engine for forward motion and includes rotors in
the wings to assist the taking off and landing operations. The
gyroscopic effects of these rotors have been taken care of. This is
done by using the reverse blade angles of the other rotor on the

opposite side. Besides, the entire design is symmetric. The rotors

are functional only during taking off, landing and during the short
period of forward motion until the desired lift is maintained by the
velocity generated by the thrust engine, after which the rotors are
brought to rest and retractable doors emerge from the wings to
cover them. The velocity required for this and the rotor speed
have been calculated and presented with the complete content.
The fuselage is placed in the centerbody and typically
houses the payload, which could be warheads or a few people, if
the plane is used for rescue operations. If extended to passenger
flights, all dimensions can be extrapolated and can be made to
accommodate lots of people.
The control surfaces are used innovatively. The design has
its wings spanning almost through its entire length. At the end,
there are ailerons provided in each wing. Our idea is to use the
ailerons as elevators too. This is done by raising or lowering the
ailerons simultaneously rather than alternatively. That is, when
they function normally like ailerons do- they provide the rolling
movement. But when they are moved together in the same
direction, they function as elevators and provide the pitching
movement. The avionics systems can take care of these.
This design has been done with aerodynamicity and
maneuverability in mind. But if this is to be extended to
passenger flights, stabilizing structures like tail can be added.

Safety: Our aircraft takes care of some of the catastrophic

events like the spiral dive. Spiral dives occur when one engine of
the twin engine systems fail. Since the plane only has only one
thrust engine placed centrally, its already taken care off.
If the thrust engine fails we have the aid of rotors to safely land
without considerable damage. Also if the rotor fails, the aircraft
can land as any regular airplane using the landing gear.

Supporting calculations for the working of this design and

diagrams are presented with the complete content.

Advantages:
1. Potential increase in fuel efficiency and range.
2. A blended wing body can have lift-to-drag ratio 50% greater
than a conventional craft.
3. The number of crashes can be reduced drastically.
4. Incredible altitude control.
5. Does not need a runway to take off.
6. Fuel consumption during takeoff and landing is brought down
considerably.
7. Can land and takeoff from any landscape.
8. It can function both as a helicopter and an airplane.
9. Extremely aerodynamic, making it very efficient.

Impact:
1. This plane can replace the contemporary fighter jets as it is
much less prone to crashes and promises to deliver better
performances.
2. If extended to passenger flights, the very precise and easy
altitude control could help in moderating air traffic efficiently.