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RevCon is redefining aerospace's cutting edge
X-Press Editor Dryden is leading a NASA aeronautics initiative called Revolutionary Concepts (RevCon), which seeks to discover and fund flight research of advanced vehicle concepts. RevCon is designed to accelerate the exploration of high-risk, breakthrough technologies in aeronautics with flight experiments. The RevCon Program is intended to go beyond evolutionary steps in advancing aerospace technology and look for concepts that are revolutionary. These ideas are a significant departure from traditional approaches to aeronautical design, said Dryden Director of Research Engineering Bob Meyer, who also is Inter-Center RevCon Planning Team chairman. The Revolutionary Concepts Program also seeks to revolutionize traditional approaches to aerospace technology and create methods to reduce development and certification time for new aircraft and flight systems. RevCon also is intended to develop new methods for enhancing accuracy in designing scale prototypes and the fidelity of simulation techniques and expand the scope of technology investigations into non-traditional areas. RevCon is not intended to be a one-shot program. It is planned to be a continuous series of advanced vehicle concept developments with a two-phase approach. The solicitation for RevCon proposals was initiated through a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) at the end of July, with proposals due in late September. The first phase will consist of systems analysis and feasibility studies for as many as six potential concepts. After approximately six months to eight months, the winning concepts will be down-selected to a maximum of three awards. Phase Two includes flight experiments with a new testbed or a technology demonstration on an existing testbed aircraft. As one or more projects work through the phases, another NASA Research Announcement is expected to solicit new ideas to keep projects continuously in the RevCon cycle approximately every two years. The ideas for RevCon are solicited from industry, NASA centers, other government agencies and academia. Industry or government can lead proposals for RevCon support and partnerships are encouraged. To provide a quick-start for RevCon in Fiscal Year 2000, proposals for the first RevCon cycle are limited to the four NASA Aeronautics Centers – Ames Research Center, Dryden, Glenn Research Center and Langley Research Center. The quick start is intended to accelerate the development of two or three concepts already on track for a flight demonstration in two to three years. Quick-start proposals will be evaluated and the top concepts will receive awards in September 1999. The idea is to get flight projects off the ground and begin a cycle that could lead to full-scale, and in some cases, piloted X-Planes in the future, said Dryden Assistant Director for Research Engineering Gerald Malcolm, who is the RevCon project manager. Projects could lead to scaled X-Planes like the X-36 that can demonstrate new airframe technology such as tailless flight, Meyer said. Other possibilities include research flights on Dryden testbed aircraft for engine concepts or innovations such as the nose strakes that flew on the F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle to enhance high-angle-of-attack aerodynamic control. One potential concept that may be considered for the quick-starts includes the Blended Wing Body, a flying wing type configuration for commercial air carriers that could reduce fuel costs by about 20 percent. Other projects that could be considered include a pulse-detonated engine (PDE) that could significantly reduce the numbers of engine parts and the Canard Rotor Wing (CRW), a concept developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Navy, Boeing and NASA Ames. As many as a dozen quick start proposals are expected. Some of those projects could meet another of RevCon’s goals – to forge partnerships with industry and other federal agencies to fund efforts that produce groundbreaking results. Advancing these technologies to reduce the risks of using them and making them available for broader applications is the focus of the effort, Meyer said. A prime example of the kinds of technologies in the past that had to be proven in flight before they were considered viable concepts include aircraft like the M2-F1 that led to generations of lifting body aircraft, as well as the Space Shuttle. |
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Responsible NASA Official: John Childress For questions, contact: Dryden Web Group Page Curator:WD-Team Modified: August 18, 1999 |
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