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Photo: US Air Force<\/p>\n
The US Air Force has released a statement detailing some of its plans to improve its carbon footprint by developing a new fighter jet platform.<\/p>\n
The success of the experimental flight of Solar Impulse HB-SIB in 2016, which circumnavigated the globe in a mere 505 days at 45 MPH, was a heartening display of technological flight superiority. \u00a0This has been the inspiration for the prospective design change from the AVGAS-burning fighter jet to a solar-powered fighter jet.<\/p>\n
Fast-tracking the development of climate-friendly, clean aviation technology has been listed as one of the Air Force\u2019s primary goals for the current century. Considering that the weight of a jet engine is directly related to a plane’s\u00a0ability to climb, turn and maneuver, the thrust-to-weight factor when fully fueled and loaded, as well as the expense of AVGAS (kerosene) and maintenance of the engines and hydraulics, were all taken into consideration when discussing the development of this platform.<\/p>\n
Speed was included as\u00a0part of that discussion. A lighter fighter powered by solar cells will not be dragged down by the weight of jet engines and their fuel requirements, allowing for a greater load of munitions such as rockets and bombs. The lack of doors on air intakes will likely contribute to fewer incidents of fuel-starvation for the engines and subsequent loss of the equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s merely a matter of time before we get a fully-loaded, fully-functioning solar-powered fighter at MACH 3 flight speed,\u201d said CAPT Robin Whitney. \u201cThe lowest thrust-to-weight ratio we\u2019ve been able to get was 0.84 with the F35A. We\u2019d like to drop that considerably by using a non-carbon powered flight platform. The weight of the airframe alone is exponentially lighter without the engines. This will provide the US Air Force with enormous savings in fuel costs, maintenance, and mechanical expenses, as well as giving us the extra room we need for long distance bombing runs. Our mission is, as always, efficiency, economy of style, and a forward-looking, environmentally-friendly program.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that between now and 2019, the development of solar-powered engines for the fighter plane platform should be right on schedule for a PR appearance at the EAA\u2019s Fly-in at Oshkosh, WI.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"