Aerospace Planes: A New Technical Arena for the Homebuilder

1
Aerospace Planes A New Technical Arena for the
Homebuilder

• EAA Oshkosh Airventure '99
• John A. Bossard

2
What Happened to Aerospace Development?

• Aviation Saw Continuous Increases in Speed and
  Altitudes until WWII
• Natural Evolution of Aerospace Planes for Orbital
  Travel was curtailed by the Space Race
• Significant Consequences of the Aerospace
  Development Path are
• Space Travel has left the Average Person Behind
• Manned Spaceflight remains exceedingly limited
• If we want to get into space, well have to do it
  ourselves

3
Aerospace Development Path Characterized by
Discontinuous Changes
Aerospace
Homebuilt Aerospace Planes
Military Aviation
General/Commercial Aviation
4
Homebuilt Aerospace PlanesA New Path for
Aerospace Development

• Homebuilt Aerospace Planes are Achievable
• Aerospace Planes Airplanes Rocket Engines
• Homebuilt Aerospace Plane Development Synopsis

5
Homebuilt Aerospace Planes are Achievable

• Homebuilt Aerospace Planes are not Impossible
• They should be considered as merely another
  aerospace design optimization problem
• High Speed Aerospace Planes have already been
  flown
• Manned Orbital Space Transportation has already
  been achieved
• A Huge Data base for Aerospace Planes Already
  Exists
• Aerothermodynamics
• Materials
• Atmospheric Properties
• Fast Information Retrieval Methods

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Aerospace Planes Airplanes Rocket Engines

• Synergize Vast Experience Among Builders
• Aircraft builders and Rocket Builders
• Merging the efforts of these two talent pools is
  a powerful approach to building aerospace planes
• Extending the Performance of Aircraft seems a
  more sensible approach than man-rating artillery
  rockets
• Utilize Vast Array of Existing Know-How
• EAA has been a continuous source of aviation
  advances
• ARS et.al. has been a continuous source of
  rocketry advances

7
Rocket Propulsion for the Homebuilt Aerospace
Plane

• Solid Rocket Motors
• Liquid Rocket Engines
• Hybrid Rocket Motors
• Combined-Cycle Engines

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Liquid Rocket Engines
Fuel
Oxidizer
Pressurant Gas
LOx/RP-1 Engine Test, 12,000 lbf Thrust Photo
courtesy of Space America, Inc. http//www.spaceam
erica.com/
9
Hybrid Rocket Engines
Oxidizer
Pressurant Gas
N20/HTTP Hybrid Engine Test, 1300 lbf
thrust Photo courtesy of HARC
10
Combined-Cycle Engines
The Air Turbo Rocket

• High Thrust-to-Weight, Specific Thrust, and Isp
• Zero to Mach 5-6 Operating Range
• Simple
• Integrates with Rocket Systems

Nozzle
Gas generator
Combustor
Compressor
Turbine
11
Propulsion Options Available to the Homebuilder
Acceptable with Further Development
Good
Poor
Key
12
Development Synopsis for the Homebuilt Aerospace
Plane

• Design Principles
• Characteristics
• Significant Design Considerations
• Building and Operating Costs
• Example Vehicles

13
Design Principles for Homebuilt Aerospace
Planes(KIS3S)

• Think Small
• Keep it Simple
• Design for Safety

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Aerospace Planes have a wider Range of
Characteristics relative to General Aviation
Planes

• Aerodynamics Characterized by
• Compressible Flow
• Real Gas Effects
• Slip Flow (high Altitudes and Speeds)
• High Propellant Fractions
• Rocket Propulsion
• Additional Systems
• Reaction Control
• Life Support

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What Are the Significant Design Considerations?

• How to You Achieve Sufficiently High Propellant
  Mass Fractions?
• Aero-thermodynamic Properties
• Vehicle Aerodynamics
• Material Compatibilities
• The Up Problems ( Burn Up, Blow Up, Break Up
  -gt Toes Up)
• Human Factors
• Unknown Problems

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Homebuilt Aerospace Plane Costs
Non-Recurring Costs
Recurring Costs

• Materials
• structure
• TPS
• Rocket Engine
• Systems
• Propellant tankage
• Controls
• Life Support
• Navigation/Comm.

• Propellants
• Operating Expenses
• Maintenance
• Fees and Licensing

17
Homebuilt Aerospace Plane Costs
2-person, sub-orbital vehicle 7000 lbm GLOW, 5000
lbm propellant, delta V5000 ft/sec Materials
Structure 100,000 Thermal
Protection 40,000 System
Rocket Engine 250,000
Propellant Tankage 150,000
Pressurant System 90,000 Reaction
Control System 65,000 Life Support
50,000 Comm./Nav.
50,000 on-board elec. Power
30,000 Other Instrumentation 20,000
Landing Gear 5,000 Total Cost (dry vehicle)
850,000 Propellants (per flight)
3500 lbm Lox 700 1500 lbm RP-1
400
Less than 1,000,000
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Representative Homebuilt Aerospace Plane
Reaction Control System
Rocket Engine
Pressurant gas
Thermal Protection
Control Surfaces (Wings and Empenage)
Crew/Recovery Compartment
Propellant Tankage
Life support
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Rocket-Powered Ercoupe

• First Rocket-Powered Airplane test by U.S.
  Military Aug. 12th, 1941
• 6 solid propellant rocket motors 3 under each
  wing
• operated with and without prop thrust
• subsonic

Photo courtesy Ercoupe Web site http//www.geocit
ies.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/3651/cfacts/jato.htm
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Bell X-1

• Lox/Alcohol Rocket motor
• 2000 lbf thrust
• 1200 lbm onboard propellant
• supersonic

Photo courtesy of the NASA Dryden Flight Research
Center Photo Gallery
21
tgs Kitten Cerulean Freight Forwarding Company

• 3-place Rocket-Powered Vehicle
• 3 x 4880 lbf Liquid Rocket Motors
  LOx and CH4 or C3H8
• 7000 lbm Gross Lift-off Weight (GLOW)
• 4600 lbm Propellants
• Sub-Orbital

Image courtesy Cerulean Freight Forwarding
Co. http//www.nvinet.com/7Ecffc/page2.htm
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Homebuilt Aerospace PlaneDevelopment Roadmap
2000
2020
Airframe Development
TSTO Launch Aircraft
Hypersonic/Sub-Orbital Airframe
Orbital/Re-entry Airframe
1st Custom Airframe
Orbital Flight
X-Prize
B-Prize
1st Homebuilt Aerospace Plane
Orbital Aerospace Plane
2nd Gen. Aerospace Plane
Existing Rocket Engines
Next Generation Propulsion
Custom Rocket Engine
Rocket Development
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Challenges to the Aerospace Plane Homebuilder

• Building and Operating Costs will be
  significantly higher than for General Aviation
  Aircraft
• Integrating into the Existing Regulatory System
  will require perseverance and fortitude
• Builders will be told repeatedly You cant do
  it

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Motivations for Building Aerospace Planes

• Fun
• Freedom
• Wealth
• Adventure
• Challenge

For those who understand, no explanation is
necessary For those who do not understand, no
explanation is possible
25
Conclusions

• Homebuilt Aerospace Planes are Achievable
• Synergy of Rocket and Aircraft Builders will make
  Homebuilt Aerospace Planes Possible
• Aerospace Plane Designs Lie within the Realm of
  Existing Knowledge

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acknowledgements

• LOx/RP-1 Engine Testing Video footage Space
  America, Inc. http//www.spaceamerica.com/
  
• Kitten Image and data Cerulean Freight
  Forwarding Co. http//www.nvinet.com/7Ecffc/page2
  .htm
• Hybrid Engine Testing Video Footage High
  Altitude Research Corp. (256)-683-7864
• Air Turbo Rocket Testing Video Footage Dr. Jay
  Lilley U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command

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The Vision for Homebuilt Aerospace Planes

• We can build Aerospace Planes if We Want to
• We are at the dawn of the Age of the
  Personal Aerospace Plane
• Homebuilt Aerospace Planes will open up the
  Space Frontier for the rest of us

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"....For I dipt into the future, far as human eye
could see,Saw the Vision of the World, and all
the wonder that would beSaw the heavens fill
with commerce, argosies of magic sails,Pilots of
the purple twilight, dropping down with costly
bales..."-Alfred, Lord Tennyson-