Phoenix (air glider)

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Phoenix is an unmanned aerial glider, a kind of airship that combines the function of a balloon and an airplane . The design is similar to that of a zeppelin , or more precisely an impact airship . There is a prototype 15 meters long and 120 kilograms heavy (without helium filling). The special construction gives the aircraft propulsion without the use of a motor, so it does not need any fuel and could stay in the air for months. The first test flights close to the ground were successful. In the next few years, a prototype four times as long is to be used at a height of 20 kilometers for explorations and measurements and as a pseudosatellite in the telecommunications sector.

Function and structure

The aircraft flies with a so-called "variable lift drive", comparable to that of an underwater glider . In use, Phoenix is ​​heavier than air half the time, i.e. an airplane, and the other half is lighter than air, i.e. a balloon.
The fuselage of the aircraft is filled with helium and gives the object lift. It has two wings with a span of 10.5 meters, the tops of which are covered with solar cells . Additional solar cells are located at the stern. Accumulators store the generated electricity.
Inside the fuselage there is an airbag into which a compressor supplied with energy by the solar cells pumps air, which makes the aircraft heavier and glides towards the earth. The wings give the glider propulsion during the descent phase, i.e. H. the wings generate a propulsion force for the forward movement from a vertical movement, as in a glider. In addition, the compressed air is released to the rear, which generates additional recoil. Due to the released compressed air, the glider becomes lighter and ascends until the next descent.

Participating universities and research institutions

The project is led by a consortium of British organizations. It is being developed under the direction of Andrew Rae, Professor of Engineering at the University of the Highlands and Islands , Perth College UHI Campus (Perth, UK), with support from the National Composites Center (Bristol), the University of Bristol and other institutes. The project was partially funded by Innovate UK (Swindon, GB) through the Aerospace Technology Institute (Bedfordshire, GB).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Half airplane, half balloon - the Deutsche Welle TV air glider . Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  2. ↑ Aviation: Researchers develop aircraft with a lift drive - Golem.de. In: golem.de. Accessed June 3, 2020 (German).
  3. ↑ Ultra-long endurance UAV flies using variable-buoyancy propulsion. In: compositesworld.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .