Created by engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the first-ever “solid-state” plane with no moving parts in its propulsion system has successfully flown 60 metres.
Not using any propellers or turbines for power, the plane instead uses ionic wind, also known as electroaerodynamic propulsion.
Equipped with a series of thin wires that have a substantially large positive charge of about 20,000 volts, the aerofoil is negatively charged at -20,000 volts. The positive wire will attract negative electrons — creating positive ions in the air.
Those charged air molecules will then be attracted to — and move towards — the negative aerofoil. It also pushes other air particles in the same direction, creating ionic wind which creates thrust used to move the plane through the air.
“This is the first-ever sustained flight of a plane with no moving parts in the propulsion system,” said Steven Barrett, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. “This has potentially opened new and unexplored possibilities for aircraft which are quieter, mechanically simpler, and do not emit combustion emissions.”
By powering flight solely through electricity, it will allow for carbon-neutral flights and lowered aviation emissions globally.
Called Version 2 EAD Airframe, the plane weighs 5.4 pounds (2.45 kg) and has a five-metre (16 feet) wingspan.
“This was the simplest possible plane we could design that could prove the concept that an ion plane could fly,” said Barret. “It’s still some way away from an aircraft that could perform a useful mission. It needs to be more efficient, fly for longer, and fly outside.”
The MIT team is currently working on increasing the efficiency of their design to increase the thrust density and produce more ionic wind with less voltage.
To learn more about this plane, click the link below.
http://news.mit.edu/2018/first-ionic-wind-plane-no-moving-parts-1121
