When you will look at a seaplane you wonder how on earth the aircraft can get off the water with those giant floats underneath.
Of course even a first-year aeronautical aerodynamics student realizes that the floats are also shaped very similar to wings, meaning they provide enough left even once off the water to hold up the extra weight.
Even though they are bulky, and are in the relative wind therefore creating drag, at least they are creating additional lift so it isn't a total loss.
Indeed, every aircraft seems to be a compromise of some type, at least today.
Let me explain that last comment.
You see, I believe in the future aircraft will have morphable wings, fuselages, propeller blades, control surfaces, and perhaps it's time to start considering the morph ability of seaplane floats.
There have been many ideas discussed from aeronautical engineers from various universities and research facilities around the nation.
Many of the top government contractors for military aircraft are constantly looking at new ways to exploit aerodynamics for more efficiency and performance.
Amongst these ideas is to have actuators inside of the leading edge of the wing of an aircraft, with a flexible skin allowing the camber of the leading-edge to shape shift.
That makes sense right? Of course it does.
Still, we know that seaplane floats are bulky, and they need to be shaped a certain way on the bottom to land on the water, and help the aircraft escape the friction of the water without flipping it over in the surf.
But what if we could change that shape once the aircraft one airborne? Well, if we could we want the float to flatten out, become very thin and become a more aerodynamic streamlined waiting for higher airspeeds.
By doing this we could significantly cut down on the drag and the bulkiness, significantly reducing the inefficiency they cause.
Further, because it isn't actually a surface that matters, it's a good place to practice without going into rebuilding an aircraft from scratch from the ground up.
How difficult would it be to design a new float system, and what strategy should we use to make this happen? We must answer the question and proceed accordingly.
Further, there are implications for wave skimming vehicles, submarines, ships, and combination craft which might be underwater unmanned vehicles which jump up into the air and fly as UAVs.
Imagine the tremendous number of new applications this could provide.
I believe all this will be possible in the future with morphable wings and shape shifting technologies in the new age of aerodynamics, and it's coming up on as fast.
Please consider all this and think on it.
Of course even a first-year aeronautical aerodynamics student realizes that the floats are also shaped very similar to wings, meaning they provide enough left even once off the water to hold up the extra weight.
Even though they are bulky, and are in the relative wind therefore creating drag, at least they are creating additional lift so it isn't a total loss.
Indeed, every aircraft seems to be a compromise of some type, at least today.
Let me explain that last comment.
You see, I believe in the future aircraft will have morphable wings, fuselages, propeller blades, control surfaces, and perhaps it's time to start considering the morph ability of seaplane floats.
There have been many ideas discussed from aeronautical engineers from various universities and research facilities around the nation.
Many of the top government contractors for military aircraft are constantly looking at new ways to exploit aerodynamics for more efficiency and performance.
Amongst these ideas is to have actuators inside of the leading edge of the wing of an aircraft, with a flexible skin allowing the camber of the leading-edge to shape shift.
That makes sense right? Of course it does.
Still, we know that seaplane floats are bulky, and they need to be shaped a certain way on the bottom to land on the water, and help the aircraft escape the friction of the water without flipping it over in the surf.
But what if we could change that shape once the aircraft one airborne? Well, if we could we want the float to flatten out, become very thin and become a more aerodynamic streamlined waiting for higher airspeeds.
By doing this we could significantly cut down on the drag and the bulkiness, significantly reducing the inefficiency they cause.
Further, because it isn't actually a surface that matters, it's a good place to practice without going into rebuilding an aircraft from scratch from the ground up.
How difficult would it be to design a new float system, and what strategy should we use to make this happen? We must answer the question and proceed accordingly.
Further, there are implications for wave skimming vehicles, submarines, ships, and combination craft which might be underwater unmanned vehicles which jump up into the air and fly as UAVs.
Imagine the tremendous number of new applications this could provide.
I believe all this will be possible in the future with morphable wings and shape shifting technologies in the new age of aerodynamics, and it's coming up on as fast.
Please consider all this and think on it.