NASA FLIES WITH SOME NEW IDEAS; INNOVATIVE PROGRAM SEEKS BETTER SOLUTIONS FOR AIRCRAFT OF FUTURE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

A flying-wing passenger plane, a cargo plane that's part blimp, and a simpler aircraft engine are the first projects selected for a new NASA program aimed at advancing the state-of-the-art technology of the nation's aerospace industry.

In keeping with NASA Administrator Dan Goldin's mantra of ``better, faster, cheaper,'' the agency is embarking on a new program called REVCON, or Revolutionary Concepts.

The goal is to revolutionize the way aerospace projects evolve from concept to reality and to reduce the time it takes to develop new aircraft and aircraft systems.

``In most cases these might not be what you would call an X-plane. X-planes can costs hundreds of millions of dollars,'' said Jerry Malcolm, project manager of NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's REVCON. ``These are low-cost X-planes or technology demonstrators.''

One of the first of the ``revolutionary concepts'' is AeroCraft, a combination airplane and blimp. The idea is to improve cargo transportation by serving a market that requires faster transportation than cargo ships, but wants cheaper costs than with normal air freight.

The AeroCraft would get 60 percent of its lift from helium, like a blimp. The other 40 percent would come from aerodynamic lift, like an airplane.

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, which developed the concept and is a partner in the REVCON project, envisions a cargo aircraft that would be 830 feet long.

The aircraft would be powered by four engines, including two mounted atop the aircraft that could be rotated to compensate for crosswinds.

The National Aeronatuics and Space Administration and its partners plan to fly a 7.8 percent scale aircraft at Dryden in 2001. The 60-foot-long model would have a pilot housed in a carriage under the aircraft, where the full-scale aircraft would have a cargo hold.

The plan calls for flying the aircraft up to 1,000 feet and at speeds ranging from about 30 mph to 75 mph.

``This will give Lockheed Martin the confidence to go forward with this or they'll find it's a bad idea,'' Malcolm said.

Partnered in the $10 million project are NASA's Dryden and Ames research centers, Tennessee-based MicroCraft, which will build the aircraft, and the American Blimp Co. in Hillsboro, Ore., which will fabricate the blimp-like material of the aircraft.

Another project is the Blended-Wing Body, a flying-wing passenger aircraft.

The blended-wing design is expected to improve fuel efficiency, maximize the takeoff weight for airplanes and to lower operating costs for commercial airlines.

NASA and its partners, the NASA Langley and Ames research centers and Boeing Phantom Works, plan to fly a 14 percent scale, remotely piloted aircraft in 2002. Total funding is $1.5 million for the project.

``One of the challenges is that there are 20 moving control surfaces. From a flight control person's point of view it's either a dream come true or a nightmare,'' Malcolm said.

The third project is the pulse detonation engine. The engine is expected to provide higher propulsion and yet have fewer parts than a conventional jet, making it simpler to maintain.

The engine, derived from Navy research for a missile program, will be tested in a wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio. Later, an engine will be flown atop a NASA SR-71 Blackbird at Dryden at speeds of about 2,000 mph.

The funding for the project is $9.6 million.

NASA plans to begin soliciting ideas for its next REVCON projects later this month. In January, NASA will select from one to three projects for funding.

``We want to get a pipeline going of revolutionary ideas,'' Malcolm said. ``We want a continuous stream of ideas.''