Next Big Future October 11, 2023
The Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) program aims to design, build, and flight test a novel X-plane that incorporates Active Flow Control (AFC) as a primary design consideration. The X-65 has no external moving parts. No flaps. No rotors. No elevators, rudders, stabilators. The flight can be improved while also reducing costs, and wear and tear on the aircraft. The smoother surface should help improve the X-65s stealth characteristics. Crane seeks to optimize the benefits of active flow control by maturing technologies and design tools, and incorporating them early in the design process. The full-size X-65 will have a 30-foot wingspan and should weigh just 7,000 pounds. DARPA awarded Aurora Flight Sciences (AFS) a phase 2 contract in January for the CRANE program. DARPA’s phase 2 funding finances the detailed engineering design work needed to create a full-scale X-65. If it succeeds this make planes and drones, cheaper, stealthier, and more maneuverable… read more.