- Статьи
- Science and technology
- "Russia is developing a helicopter that turns into an airplane in flight."
"Russia is developing a helicopter that turns into an airplane in flight."
A supersonic airplane technology demonstrator is being created in Russia . It will help work out flight modes for a passenger airliner that will travel from Moscow to Vladivostok in two or three hours. In addition, scientists have patented the design of a helicopter that turns into an airplane in the air. In an exclusive interview with Izvestia, the scientific director of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI), Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Sergei Chernyshev told about it. He also reported on the "flying wing", electric motors, plasma aerodynamics and other breakthrough developments in domestic aviation.
"A supersonic airplane is being created - a technology demonstrator"
- Sergey Leonidovich, when will our country catch up with the world leaders in terms of flight intensity?
- It should be said that the number of air flights in Russia has increased in recent years. According to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, in 2023 Russian airlines carried 105 million passengers. New air routes are appearing, new air harbors are put into operation every year, and domestic tourism is developing. Cargo transportation is also growing due to the popularity of marketplaces.
The development of air transportation in our country is decided at the level of national projects. It is important to ensure aviation mobility of people in the most remote parts of the country. The enterprises of the industry are actively working in this direction.
- One of the TsAGI projects is the development of a new generation supersonic passenger airplane. At what stage is the project at?
- Now it is a complex scientific and technical project, which is being implemented with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade as part of the cooperation of scientific and educational organizations, where SIC "N.E. Zhukovsky Institute" performs an integrating and leading role in relation to all project participants, including TsAGI.
It is assumed that the civil supersonic aircraft will fly at a cruising speed corresponding to Mach 1.8, which at an altitude of 14-16 km will be about 2200 km/h. Most of the technologies within the project are worked out at the level of digital modeling and ground experiments. Including by blowing reduced models of the airplane in wind tunnels.
- At what stage is the project at?
- Now a supersonic airplane - a technology demonstrator - is being created for full-scale experiments. It will make it possible to test flight modes (takeoff, landing, overcoming the sound barrier) and to work out the most important technologies, such as reduction of sound impact and noise, to test the elastic properties of the airframe structure and its strength, to evaluate other characteristics of the future airplane.
The technology demonstrator is an important source of information. It will help to proceed to the creation of a full-size prototype of a supersonic passenger airplane.
- What is the purpose of building a supersonic airplane?
- To significantly reduce the time of air travel. For example, such an airliner will be able to cover the distance from Moscow to Vladivostok in two or three hours. This will make it possible to travel from the capital to the Far East (or in the opposite direction) within one day. This format saves people's time and effort. Ultimately, supersonic airliners will increase the connectivity of our country. In addition, new opportunities for intercontinental flights are opening up.
It is expected that supersonic flights will first be in demand in business aviation. Therefore, the first airplanes of this class will carry a small number of passengers. As demand develops, larger capacity machines will appear. The goal is to provide ticket prices comparable to the price of business class flights on subsonic airplanes.
"TheRussian scientific school in the field of control processes and AI is one of the strongest in the world"
- Tell us what projects can ensure technological leadership?
- The tasks of today do not cancel the work for the future. At the same time, the domestic aviation science and engineering school takes into account global trends in its work. First of all, we are talking about flight safety and elimination of human factor as a cause of aviation accidents due to deep automation of processes on board the aircraft and application of highly intelligent control systems. I would like to note that the Russian scientific school in the field of control processes and artificial intelligence is one of the strongest in the world.
Another direction is reduction of engine emissions through optimal fuel consumption, reduction of jet noise and airframe noise, increase in aerodynamic efficiency of the aircraft, reduction of specific weight of the structure, optimal integration of the engine and airframe and a number of other directions.
Improvement of aircraft aerodynamics, in its turn, can be provided through the use of non-traditional aerodynamic layouts (of the "flying wing" type), optimal integration of engines and airframe, control of aircraft streamline, use of distributed power plants, etc.
To "ennoble" the flow around the aircraft, which leads to a reduction in aerodynamic drag, various methods are being worked out: the effect on breakaway zones in order to reduce them, the use of natural or artificial laminarization.
- Can you give examples of breakthrough developments?
- Innovative research projects have been launched in all the above-mentioned areas. They should provide a whole set of technological solutions, some of which have no analogues in the world.
Let me give an example from the field of non-traditional methods of flow laminarization through the use of "cold" plasma. The physics of this process can be explained as follows: jets of ionized gas, which are formed due to the impact of high-frequency electric discharges of low power, are directed into the zone of the near-wall thin boundary layer to give the flow a laminar character. This, in turn, leads to a reduction of air flow friction on the streamlined surface.
That is, artificially created jets of ionized gas as if to correct the flow in the boundary layer and reduce the resistance by a quarter. This effect has been confirmed experimentally in studies by TsAGI and the Institute of Electrophysics and Electric Power Engineering of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This is still a fundamental result, but the application of "cold" plasma can give rise to a new technological direction - plasma aerodynamics.
"A "flying wing" type design can improve aerodynamic performance by 25%"
- What promising aircraft designs are scientists considering?
- If we talk about long-range airplanes, then here designers have reached the limit of efficiency of classical forms. Therefore, there is a search for non-traditional solutions. One of the promising ones is the configuration of the "flying wing" type of large elongation. It is shown that the "flying wing" type design can improve the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft by 25%.
Also discussed are layouts with a distributed propulsion system. It represents a jet engine in which the "cold" compressor part is divided into several inlets. They repeatedly compress the air and feed it into a single gas generator.
Such a powerplant scheme, when integrated with the airframe, gives additional flexibility to the designer and has less aerodynamic drag. A large number of engines allows to solve the problem of failure of one or more of them during flight.
- Are hybrid engine systems promising?
For small-sized airplanes, both in Russia and in the world, systems that combine thermal (e.g. turbojet) and electric engines are being studied. The former also recharge batteries during operation. Then the accumulated energy is directed to electric motors, which are switched on both during take-off and climbing modes and during cruising flight. A large number of electric motors (up to a dozen) makes it possible to solve the problem of safe failure of one or more of them during flight.
The advantage of the multi-engine scheme is that when designing an aircraft, the designer can optimally fit the engines into the airframe design in order to minimize drag. The realization of these projects at this stage is constrained by the lack of compact and lightweight batteries. But work in this direction is underway, and in the near future the application of electric propulsion principles in aviation will become commonplace.
- Are there any apparatuses in TsAGI's development, conditionally speaking, based on new physical principles?
- Yes, testing the feasibility of innovative designs is one of the core activities of the Institute. For example, TsAGI is developing a helicopter that turns into an airplane in flight.
This device is equipped with a main rotor, which in certain flight modes is fixed and becomes just a wing. At the same time, the pusher engines continue to work, and the aircraft flies like an airplane. In other words, the machine combines the advantages of vertical takeoff (as in helicopters) and high horizontal speed, which is provided by the airplane layout.
We have patented this technological innovation. However, not all ideas are realized in reality. Once the workability of a particular concept is confirmed, the long road of creating working technologies that ensure flight safety and high aerodynamic efficiency and reliability of the aircraft begins.
"TsAGI has a group that is deeply studying airships and the mechanics of their flight"
- How do you feel about the prospect of airships built with modern technology and materials?
- TsAGI has a group that is deeply studying airships and the mechanics of their flight. The main problem of such vehicles is sailing. For example, a strong side wind can cause loads to which the engines will not be able to react quickly, which is fraught with an accident.
This is the main limiting factor in the development of airships. However, such vehicles can be used for various special purposes - remote sensing of the Earth or providing communication and navigation in inaccessible areas, carrying navigation devices. They can also be used to deliver cargo and mail in remote areas if necessary.
- How is unmanned aviation affecting manned aviation right now?
- Drones cannot yet compete with manned aviation in the sphere of long-distance passenger transportation. Nevertheless, in the next 10-15 years, the aircraft industry will be developing unmanned transportation for individual use. For example, air cabs.
This is the most logical option, but it requires thorough elaboration to ensure flight safety. In particular, it is necessary to prescribe the regulatory framework and create infrastructure for low-flying vehicles. This is especially important in urban agglomerations.
Some countries are considering options for air cabs that fly in unmanned mode along set routes, guided by stationary navigation stations. That is, they will fly through the air, as streetcars run on rails. Such vehicles will be able to fly at a height of several tens or hundreds of meters from the ground. At the same time, it is necessary to exclude crossing the flight paths of unmanned and manned vessels.
