The GL-10 Greased Lightning is a hybrid
diesel-electric tiltwing
A tiltwing aircraft features a wing that is horizontal for conventional forward flight and rotates up for vertical takeoff and landing. It is similar to the tiltrotor design where only the propeller and engine rotate. Tiltwing aircraft are typica ...
unmanned aircraft.
Development
The wing has eight electric motor driven propellers while the horizontal stabilizer has two. In the future full-scale version, power will be generated by two 6 kW (8 hp) diesel engines which will charge lithium ion batteries. The propellers on the leading edge of the wing provide high speed flow, and thus lift, on the wing even in low forward velocity flight allowing pitch, roll, and yaw control authority during the critical transition phase from hover to forward flight.
The
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-wi ...
capability of this new class of
UAV eliminates the requirement for additional ground support equipment like launch catapults and landing catch mechanisms. In addition, the propellers are designed for a relatively low tip speed resulting in a marked reduction in noise. The aircraft is designed to complete several vertical take-off and landings during its mission with a loiter endurance of 24 hours in the forward flight mode. The GL-10 performed transitions between vertical and horizontal flight in 2015.
The Greased Lightning was followed by the
Langley Aerodrome No. 8 (LA-8), a
tandem-wing QAC Quickie Q2
A tandem wing is a wing configuration in which a flying craft or animal has two or more sets of wings set one behind another. All the wings contribute to lift.
The tandem wing is distinct from the biplane in which the wings are s ...
, deflected-
slipstream (demonstrated in the late 1950s by the
Ryan VZ-3 Vertiplane
The Ryan VZ-3 Vertiplane, also known by the company designation Ryan Model 92 was an American experimental vertical/short take-off (VSTOL) aircraft built by the Ryan Aeronautical Company for the United States Army.
Design and development
The ...
) design with four propellers on each wing for
urban air mobility, tested in a Low-Speed Wind Tunnel before flight tests in late August 2019.
Full scale specifications (GL-10)
See also
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Canadair CL-84 Dynavert
The Canadair CL-84 "Dynavert", designated by the Canadian Forces as the CX-131, was a V/STOL turbine tiltwing monoplane designed and manufactured by Canadair between 1964 and 1972. Only four of these experimental aircraft were built with three ...
*
Hiller X-18
The Hiller X-18 was an experimental cargo transport aircraft designed to be the first testbed for tiltwing and V/STOL (vertical/short takeoff and landing) technology.
Development
Design work started in 1955 by Stanley Hiller Jr and Hiller A ...
*
LTV XC-142
The Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) XC-142 was a tri-service tiltwing experimental aircraft designed to investigate the operational suitability of vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) transports. An XC-142A first flew conventionally on 29 Septem ...
References
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Unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States
Tiltwing aircraft
Diesel-electric vehicles
Hybrid electric aircraft
Ten-engined aircraft