HOMER and PEACE Offer Possibly Quieter Flight: Part Two

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Quieter, smoother, more fuel efficient – it sounds like the CAFE Foundation’s goals for its Sky Taxis.  ACHEON, a Euro-consortium of high-powered academic institutions, is working to bring together the Coanda effect with modern plasma technology to create a much-improved aerial travel experience. Having explored a few of the many aircraft that have attempted to use the Coanda effect, we now examine the work of the consortium of six organizations: four Universities, one Research and Tech Transfer Organization and one Research intensive SME (Small and Medium Enterprise – Nimbus S.r.l) from four European Countries (Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Belgium). The team, committed to exploring and demonstrating the benefits of ACHEON technology, is at work on possible applications for different craft. including: Traditional aerial vehicles architecture, which could include aircraft with wing-mounted engines. Innovative aerial vehicle designs with localized or distributed propulsion. Innovative aircraft optimized for thrust vectoring, even including airship configurations. One paper, “Investigating the Use of the Coanda …

HOMER and PEACE Offer Quieter, Smoother Flight: Part One

Dean Sigler Diesel Powerplants, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

A European-based consortium of academic and industrial groups take a very old idea, add a plasma system that seems to be nearly science fiction, whip them together and create quiet, efficient, vector-controlled flight.  That’s the promise, although it seems a bit much to take in all at once.  But the folks at the ACHEON (Aerial Coanda High Efficiency Orienting-jet Nozzle) project seem to think they have a potential winner here.  ACHEON represents two other acronyms, so let’s define those first. The original idea for the project was part of H. O. M. E. R., not of the Simpsons, or even of epic Greek poetry, but of the “High-speed Orienting Momentum with Enhanced Reversibility” variety.  Combine that with P. E. A. C. E., the “Plasma Enhanced Actuator for Coanda Effect” with a low moving-parts count, and you get a method for enhancing flow, increasing thrust and vectoring that thrust for smoother, quieter rides and better maneuverability. Aerospazio Campania thinks the key …