http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/ Engadget Comments for Misplaced wings no sweat for DARPA's new aircraft control system http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 1:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 6:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Furthermore, aircraft nowadays are built with lifting bodies - with enough thrust, their fuselage can provide the lift that a missing wing cannot.

This situation, where an F15 pilot lost his wing, was resolved by the pilot successfuly landing the aircraft. It turns out that the airflow on the fuselage was able to provide the lift needed to keep the plane flying. The F-18 and the F15 have such large wing surface areas, that even losing one wing shouldn't bring them down if computers counteract the new physics.]]>Jun 12th 2008 8:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 9:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
You're wrong about the "all fighter planes are unstable by design" thing. The F-16 was, but the F-18 went in the exact opposite direction, and is super-stable. Which gives it some advantages over the F-16: it is more steady during bombing runs, for instance.

It also has a blended wing design that lets it develop lift across the entire fuselage, which makes it a good choice for surviving a wing strike like this.

I'd be curious what this software could do on a model of say, a learjet.]]>Jun 12th 2008 10:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 12:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Flashpoint, stop talking out your ass. Where the hell did you read this? (Since I know you have nothing to do with aircraft in the real world.) I've been an aircraft mechanic (avionics) in the Air Force for nine years; there are only a very small amount of aircraft that are fly-by-wire. Off the top of my head, the B-2, C-17, and the modern fighters are fly-by-wire. EVERYTHING ELSE ISN'T. I know you're one of those self-imposed airplane nerds so really, keep out of this.]]>Jun 12th 2008 12:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Lol. I wonder what is considered overreacting when your plane is missing a wing and you're about to crash and die. ]]>Jun 12th 2008 1:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wHADAKreoPY]]>Jun 12th 2008 1:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 11:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 1:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 6:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
I don't know about USAF planes, but I've heard most commercial jets use the wings to store fuel. It's a shame that this tech would be of little use in commercial scenarios. But then again, commercial planes have a negligible history of losing wingage :)]]>Jun 12th 2008 1:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 1:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 5:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 10:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
When the robots take over, we won't even be able to shoot them down.]]>Jun 12th 2008 1:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/

]]>Jun 12th 2008 2:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Um yeah.... I'll go ahead and take the keys to your Harley now.]]>Jun 12th 2008 2:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Hell if you're gonna use an old joke, do it right!]]>Jun 12th 2008 7:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
http://www.amazon.com/How-Survive-Robot-Uprising-Defending/dp/1582345929/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213277840&sr=8-1]]>Jun 12th 2008 9:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 1:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 1:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 1:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/WTF?
Why even have the pilot then if he's not required to fly the bloody plane.
]]>Jun 12th 2008 2:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 2:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 4:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 10:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/I think the only reason we don't have pilotless commercial flight is because people prefer some faulty human to a perfect machine.]]>Jun 12th 2008 12:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 9:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
"STAY ON TARGET!" ]]>Jun 12th 2008 2:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 3:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Did you notice how they blacked out the landing strip? They didn't want you to see it was actually a heavily sedated Grey that was flying it. Robot overlords my ass.]]>Jun 12th 2008 3:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Bottom line, if this network had been available and active as a safety back up, 9/11 would never have occurred.]]>Jun 12th 2008 3:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 3:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
*tear*]]>Jun 12th 2008 3:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_wing]]>Jun 12th 2008 3:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
And i think the flying wing is a discomfrabulation, you know a miscontraspiracy. Like the whole JFK abominazationifying incident. Aliens from area 51 basically. Or commies. Either way, you just wait till santa claus conquers the martians, then were gonna be in for it.

PS everything above makes perfect sense. you are not confused at all. not at all. @_@]]>Jun 12th 2008 4:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Bull, that Israeli F-15 pilot did this in real life, and not with a scale model either. Key to this situation is to fight instinct and increase power to make up for the loss of lift.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-15#Notable_accidents_and_incidents
http://www.uss-bennington.org/pics/phz-nowing-f15.jpg]]>Jun 12th 2008 3:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
PS I love America, but sometimes its just so easy to poke fun at our astounding level of intelligence (or lack thereof).]]>Jun 12th 2008 3:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Keith - "Key to this situation is to fight instinct and increase power to make up for the loss of lift." Thats very easy for you to say with the benefit of hindsight and the comfort of your chair. Its not so easy to establish what has gone wrong with the plane when your sat in it and cant actually see most it, let alone figure out how to correct it within a split second.]]>Jun 12th 2008 6:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 4:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
Watch the movie 'Hot Shots' and you will see Charlie Sheen land one on the deck of his Aircrat Carrier]]>Jun 12th 2008 7:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 10:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 13th 2008 6:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
So I wonder if the materials in a full-size jet can withstand the shear forces?]]>Jun 12th 2008 7:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
A slight clarification on the second sentence: The materials themselves will fail with a given load whether it is small or large scale. It will fail at the point of max shear, whether it is 30mm or 3m long.]]>Jun 12th 2008 7:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
If the scale model is made larger, doubling the thickness of say a carbon fiber skin does not double the strength of said skin. Doubling the size of an object usually is 4X the mass. So if we double the size of this model we have less than 2X the strength in the remaining fuselage with roughly 4X the weight.]]>Jun 12th 2008 7:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/
The pilot announces that they lost an engine and will be half an hour late. A short while later he announces that a second engine is out and they will be an hour late. Finally the pilot informs the passengers that they lost a third engine and will be even later. At that point one of the passengers comments, "any more of this and we'll be up here all day!".]]>Jun 12th 2008 7:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/misplaced-wings-no-sweat-for-darpas-new-aircraft-control-system/Jun 12th 2008 10:17AM