Academic literature on the topic 'HFB airplanes'

The dual mode air-road vehicle is one of those concepts that have intrigued travelers and inventors for a long time. The quest for a vehicle that can be driven on the roads and flown in the sky started as early as the development of airplane by Wright brothers in 1906. With the ever growing traffic and congestion on the roads, increased security procedures at airports and airline hub-spoke system, the travel times for certain range of distances have increased in recent times creating a need for a dual mode vehicle. In the US, for the mid-range distances (200–500 mile), travel options available are limited for other than large population centers. Transportation by train or bus is often limited and involves multi-stops between desired destinations. Therefore, the mid-range travel is more likely accomplished by a car or an airline or sometimes both. Travel by car or airline for this ranged can consumes considerable time because of road, airport and air traffic congestions, security procedures and wait times. A survey published in 2004 by Bureau of Transportation Statistics [1] reveals that 200–500 mile trips account for about 31.8% of the total trips taken in the US. With the premise that a dual mode vehicle could be a potential solution for mid-range travel, particularly around a 300 mile distance, the present work aims at establishing a frame-work and performance envelope for this type vehicle, In other words, the roadable aircraft or the flying car. These vehicles are neither a high performance car nor a high performance aircraft. They are vehicles that have the capability to be driven on the roads and flown in the sky. The present study focuses on identifying the technical, operational and acceptability challenges that have to be overcome to build a dual mode vehicle. This paper also covers some preliminary design aspects like power-fuel requirements, wing-airfoil parameters and an approach to address the road mode issues arising due to the wing.