368 lines
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Plaintext
368 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
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| File Name : MAJORDE1.ASC | Online Date : 12/13/94 |
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| Contributed by : James Hartman | Dir Category : GRAVITY |
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| From : KeelyNet BBS | DataLine : (214) 324-3501 |
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| KeelyNet * PO BOX 870716 * Mesquite, Texas * USA * 75187 |
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| A FREE Alternative Sciences BBS sponsored by Vanguard Sciences |
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This file was originally shared with KeelyNet courtesy of James Hartman on
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05/16/93. It has been 'de-formatted' and the MAJORDE1.GIF has been cleaned up.
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Associated picture .GIF : MAJORDE1.GIF
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[ Popular Mechanics - August 1964 ]
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Major de Seversky's
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Ion - Propelled Aircraft
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An ion - generated wind will lift and propel
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this incredible magic carpet of the future
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By Hans Fantel
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IT WAS DOWNRIGHT SPOOKY. Without a sound, the peculiar, spiky contraption
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rose straight up, hovered awhile, climbed higher. Then it did a few graceful
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turns, stopped again, and just sat there silently in midair.
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It seemed like levitation - some trick to overcome gravity. I could not shake
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off the feeling that i was attending a kind of spiritual seance, or maybe
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a Buck Rogers show, instead of an engineering demonstration. The eerie
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scene took place in the big barn like laboratory of Electron-Atom Inc.,
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research firm in Long Island City, New York, devoted to the development of a
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new kind of flying machine. I had been invited to watch a scale model being
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put through its paces by remote control. What we saw was by far the
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oddest aircraft since the Wright Brothers' motorized kite.
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It had no prop. No jet. No wings. In fact, it had no moving parts at all
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looking somewhat like an old-fashioned bedspring, the rectangular rig is the
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nearest thing to a magic carpet. It needs no runway, takes off vertically and
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is expected to climb as high as 60 miles. It can crawl through the air like a
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snail, or go faster than a jet. Nobody yet knows the speed limit.
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After a while, I closed my mouth. But David Yorysh, one of the project
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engineers, noticed my puzzlement.
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"Any questions?" he grinned.
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"Yes. What holds it up?"
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"Ions," said Yorysh, as he launched
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into an explanation of a wholly new
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flight concept.
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The magic carpet, called the Ionocraft, flies on pure electricity. It depends
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specifically on the fundamental principle of electricity that electric current
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always flows from negative to positive, and it uses two basic pieces of
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equipment to take advantage of this principle - tall metal spikes that are
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installed above an open wire-mesh grid.
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High negative voltage is shot from the spikes toward the positively charged
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wire grid, just like negative and positive poles on an ordinary battery. As
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the negative charge leaves the spike arms, it peppers the surrounding air like
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buckshot, putting a negative charge on some of the air particles. Such
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negatively charged air particles are called ions, and these are attracted
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downward by the positively charged grid.
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"Okay," I said. "But I still don't see what holds it up." "I'm getting to
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that," Yorysh assured me as he spelled out the rest of the Ionocraft
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principle. In their mad rush from the ion emitter to the main grid, the
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ions bump into neutral air molecules-air particles without electric
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charge. The terrific wallop in these collisions hurls a mass of neutral
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air down-ward along with ions. When they reach that air grid, the ions being
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negative are trapped by positive charge on the grid. but the grid has no
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attraction for the neutral air particles that got bumped along. So the air
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flows right through the open grid mesh, making a downdraft beneath the
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Ionocraft. The contraption rides on this shaft of air, getting lift just like
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a helicopter - by sucking air down from the top.
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"Aerodynamically, it works just like a chopper," Yorysh summed it up. "But
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instead of using a rotor and blades, we create the downward air flow
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electrically by means of ionic discharge. the ions act on the air like a man
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treading water. They just push down."
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The engineers working on Ionocraft are the first to admit that their present
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rig is still a long way from any kind of practical aircraft. the model we saw
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measures only 1296 square inches and consists of about $5 worth of balsa
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wood and aluminum wire. But the principle holds an important promise for the
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future of aviation.
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The problem now is improving efficiency - getting enough lift from a given
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grid area and a given amount of energy, Present models cannot yet lift their
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own electric generators. they get power through a feeder cable, dangling
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down like an umbilical cord. Ionocraft engineers tend to be close-
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mouthed on performance figures.
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But they will tell you that at present it takes 90 watts (30,000 volts at 3
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milliamperes) to fly a two ounce model. translated into ordinary power-
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to-weight ratios, this works out to roughly .96 hp. per pound, as compared
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with a typical .1 hp per pound of helicopter or .065 hp for a pound Piper
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Cub.
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But Ionocraft designers are hard at work upping efficiency. One possible
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power - boosting technique is to pulse the power in short high energy bursts
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rather than apply steady voltage. They are also trying out various grid
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patterns and ion emitter layouts to minimize energy loss through turbulence in
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the downdraft.
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Despite such unresolved problems, the development crew almost bristles with
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optimism, and the most optimistic of all is the Ionocraft's inventor Major
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Alexander P. de Seversky. No crackpot, Major de Seversky is a practical
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visionary who in many areas has been far in front of his field.
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"We hope to fly a model with self-contained power, perhaps by the end of the
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year," he told me, confidently. "Ultimately, the ionic drive will prove more
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efficient than either propeller or jet as a method of aircraft propulsion.
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"It will achieve lift at less expenditure of energy and fuel than existing
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form of aircraft. In fact, it will prove the most efficient method of
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converting electricity into motion."
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Coming from a man of de Seversky's background, such a statement has an almost
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prophetic ring. A leading aircraft designer and ace flyer for the past 50
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years, de Seversky's idea's have often been ahead of their time- sometimes to
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the embarrassment of other aviation experts. Losing his right leg during his
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first flying mission in World War I didn't deter him from downing 13 enemy
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aircraft in later flights. After coming to the United States from Russia, de
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Seversky developed bombsights and course computers during the 1920s that were
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the forerunners of today's inertial guidance systems.
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Worked with Billy Mitchell
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Later he pioneered the design of the cantilever-skin stressed wing that is now
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in general use. He was consultant to General Billy Mitchell in the historic
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airplane-verses battleship tactical experiments of the 1920s, and as a special
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consultant to the U.S. Chiefs of Staff helped formulate basic air strategy in
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World War II. He also contributed to the designs of the P-35 and P-43 which
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led to the development of the P-47 Thunderbolt, one of America's most
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effective wartime fighter planes. Now a trim and sprightly man of 70, he
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still likes to take out experimental jet planes for a spin.
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"The idea hit me as I was working on an electric air-cleaning device which I
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had invented," the major recalled. "That gadget was designed to fight air
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pollution by electrically charging the particles in industrial smoke and then
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trapping them on a liquid electrode with the opposite charge." De Seversky
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noticed an air flow developing between the two electrodes, caused by
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ionization process previous explained. "To an old flyer like me," said the
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major, "anything that stirs up a wind is a flying machine. So I began to
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develop the idea." The major seemed concerned that the Ionocraft might be
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mistaken for a kind of space vehicle.
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"This is not a spacecraft," he explained emphatically to forestall any
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misunderstanding. "It's an airplane, designed to operate within the
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atmosphere. But it will be able to do things no present type aircraft can
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accomplish."
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Pointing out the potential advantage of Ionocraft over conventional planes or
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helicopters, de Seversky ticks of a whole string of radical notions:
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High-altitude flight. Helicopters whirl their blades in utter frustration at
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altitudes where the air gets thin. Beyond 20,000 feet, they get almost no
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lift. By contrast, experts calculate that Ionocraft can kick up (rather kick
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down) enough air to stay aloft at 300,000 feet.
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Unlimited size. The bigger it gets the better it flies. Efficiency increases
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with grid area. Distributing airflow around the grid edge becomes
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proportionately less important in larger craft. the reason:
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Grid area increases faster than circumference with growing size.
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"We'll be able to build them as big as a city block" claimed de Seversky.
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High speed. No practical speed limit has been determined. The ions themselves
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flash from emitter to grid impart to the very high-velocity
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impulse. Aerodynamic drag would be the chief speed-limiting
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factor. But, streamlining of the grid edge and careful contouring
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of the craft, could minimize air drag.
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Safety. No moving parts in propulsion and no wear, means less chance of
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failure, simpler maintenance.
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Steering with Voltage
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Steering control is accomplished by applying different voltages to various
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parts of the craft. The part with the high voltage gets more lift, hence tilts
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up. The form of the Ionocraft does not matter. Any shape will fly, but de
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Seversky assumes that round models in the from of a flying saucer will be the
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most easily manuverable.
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By a simple joystick control, the pilot can lift any edge of the craft,
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producing pitch and roll as if the Ionocraft had elevators and ailerons. He
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can put the craft into any flight attitude-noise up or down, or banking to
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either side. Like the tilt of a helicopter rotor, this inclination pushes the
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craft forward, rearward, or sideways.
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J.F. Bruno, the technical director of de Seversky's staff, spoke of a
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passenger gondola in future models, suspended from gimbals below the main grid
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so that it remains level regardless of how the main deck is tilted. Locations
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below the main grid also shields passengers from high energy flow. But, even
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if the passengers somehow got into the ion stream, it wouldn't electrocute
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them unless they got "grounded" to the main grid. "It would be just like
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birds sitting on a wire," said Yorysh, the man in charge of electronic design.
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Until patents for Ionocraft were firmly nailed, de Seversky kept his ideas
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carefully under raps. That's another reason no full-scale prototype has yet
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been built. But even present scale models set the imagination buzzing. Manned
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craft are envisioned for:
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Commuter transport, With no size limit, you can pack trainloads of
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people into this VTOL craft, relieve traffic congestion around urban
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centers. The type of craft used as long-distance transport possibly
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at supersonic speeds-would not need big airports with long run ways.
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Airborne traffic monitors. Hovering above bridges and major
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intersections, or patrolling above highways, one-man Ionocraft would
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provide a panoramic view of traffic conditions, radio information to
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ground traffic-control centers.
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Grid Is Hard to Hit
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Military reconnaissance and rescue. Without moving parts, the
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Ionocraft is less vulnerable to small-arms fire than helicopters.
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the open grid makes a poor target. Most bullets would whizz right
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through it. Even if the grid is hit, the electric charge would be
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maintained despite the damage to some portions. Unlike a copter with
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shattered blades, the Ionocraft would not crash.
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Weather observation. While satellites like Tiros look down on the
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atmosphere from outer space. Ionocraft could sail right into the
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weather-making air layers, providing valuable supplemental information.
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Being steerable, Ionocraft would not drift with the wind like weather
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balloons, but could hold a position over crucial areas, making local
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forecasts more reliable.
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Skyborne antenna, kept aloft indefinitely in a fixed position by ground
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based energy supply. Ionocraft could also act as a skyborne antenna,
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extending the range of defense radar. "It would be like raising the
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DEW-line 60 miles up into the air," suggested de Seversky, "adding 15
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to 25 minutes warning time against missiles."
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Anti-missile machine. Always alert to military tactics, de Seversky
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believes that Ionocraft could be used as missile interceptors.
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Normally the craft would hover at high altitudes, scanning the horizon
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for a 700-mile range. As soon as it spotted and identified a hostile
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missiles through an infrared detection system, the Ionocraft would hurl
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itself at the enemy rocket on a collision course and blow it out of the
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air.
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When practical craft are built, their designers expect to have a choice
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of several power supply systems now under development for NASA's space
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program. Some of these include:
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Gas-turbine generators. Several firms, notably General Electric and
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Allis-Chalmers, have come up with compact, light weight, kerosene-
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fueled turbines, originally intended as power sources for spacecraft.
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These may be used to generate electricity aboard Ionocraft.
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Fuel cells. these are chemical reactors producing electricity like a
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storage battery, but drawing their chemicals from external supply
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tanks. NASA is currently testing fuel cells converting hydrogen and
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oxygen to electricity, with drinking water as a byproduct.
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Solar cells, directly convert sunlight to electricity-the present
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energy source of most satellites. When high-efficiency solar cells
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are available, they may keep Ionocraft aloft for indefinite periods.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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Power from Boiling Mercury
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Sunflower - a code name for another project aimed at deriving
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electric power directly from sunlight. It employs an umbrella-like
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reflector that focuses the sun's heat to boil mercury, which expands
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through a turbine and drives an electric generator. (Solar-power
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supplies would be back-stopped by other kinds of power generators to
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take over whenever no sunlight is available.)
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Microwave radiation. Concentrated beams of high-frequency radio
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waves may transfer energy from ground stations to the Ionocraft if
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the craft is to be used as a hovering platform in a fixed position.
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Raytheon has pioneered this type of energy transmission through its
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Amplitron tube and has recaptured as much as 72 percent of the
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radiated energy at the receiver site. High-power laser beams may be
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similarly used for transmission.
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Experimental hardware has already been produced for each of these
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off-beat power-supply systems.
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None of the men working on the Ionocraft will be pinned down to any
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production timetable. "It's a pretty wild project," admitted technical
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director Bruno, a veteran 20 years in the missile business. "But that's
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what they said when we started working on rockets."
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Major de Seversky, whose own career goes back to the beginnings of
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aviation, views his invention in historical perspective:
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"We are exploring an entirely new principle of flight. We're just at
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the spot where the Wright Brothers were in 1903. We are just beginning
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to see the possibilities."
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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The following were captions for pictures or diagrams which were not
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included in the computer version of the article as sent to KeelyNet.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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ION - PROPULSION is produced when negative charge from
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upright arms charges surrounding air particles into ions.
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Negatively charged ions rush toward positively charged
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grid, pushing neutral air particles before them
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Figure 1:
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IONS RUSHING TOWARDS POSITIVELY
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CHARGED GRID COLLIDE /\
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WITH NEUTRAL AIR / <20> \
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MOLECULES AND / <20> \
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THRUST AIR - <20> <20> <20> -
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DOWNWARD, IONS / \ / \
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STOP AT GRID - / \- - / \ -
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+ -------------------------------------- + GRID
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| | | |
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| | | | (NEUTRAL +/-)
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\/ \/ \/ \/
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NEUTRAL AIR MOLECULES WHACKED DOWNWARD BY
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IONS, PASS THROUGH MESH OF ION-ACCEPTOR
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GRID. DOWN WASH KEEPS IONOCRAFT ALOFT
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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MAJOR DE SEVERSKY became interested in ion propulsion when he noticed
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air flow between two electrodes while working on another of his
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inventions.
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IONOCRAFT MODEL takes to air, completely unsupported except for
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downwash of air. Next step is to develop model that can carry its own
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power supply
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IONOCRAFT COMMUTER maybe solution for suburbanites of the future in
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congested areas, speeding hundreds of them short distances over heavy
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city traffic. Power would be supplied by chain of ground-based master
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stations.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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ONE MAN IONOCRAFT could be tomorrow's traffic patrol car or, in combat,
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hovering vehicle for guerrilla wars, all but impervious to some minor
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grid damage
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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ANTI-MISSILE IONOCRAFT, powered by sunlight, could hover indefinitely
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in upper atmosphere, then home in on incoming warhead and blast it out
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of sky.
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Vangard Notes...
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This file was updated October 30th, 1993 when the MAJORDE1.GIF
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was uploaded to us.
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One more point of interest here based on modern developments is
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the invention of the RECTENNA. This is an antenna array that
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is mounted on the flying machine and RECEIVES high density
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microwave transmissions FROM a ground transmitter.
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The antenna has a built-in diode network that rectifies the
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alternating current into direct current. Note the Ionocraft
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requires 30,000 volts at about 3 milliamperes (90 WATTS) which
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is relatively LOW when speaking of high voltages. This could
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be achieved in multiple ways.
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As stated in the text, the larger the surface area of the grid,
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the GREATER the weight (payload) the craft can lift. The idea
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of an attached gondola to the bottom of the craft would not
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only provide for a payload carrying area but also help to
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stabilize the craft much as a basket beneath a balloon.
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A final comparison is the work of Townsend Brown with the
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Bifeld/Brown Effect. It requires a minimum of 50,000 volts,
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again with the larger payloads requiring higher voltages.
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Spin can also increase the payload capacityby vortex
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amplification.
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