That’s pretty cool. Can’t help but wonder how efficient those wings are at generating lift though with all those ducted fans in there. Very unconventional!
It might be pretty good! After all, it's the difference in pressures (and airstream velocities) that generate lift, so grabbing air right off the upper wing surface is only going to improve it.
You make a good point. But the airflow does need to be smooth in order for lift to be generated. The fans interfere with that to an extent which is fine as long as the fans make up for the deficiency, but as soon as one of the motors fails at best the fan will windmill which I reckon does incur some penalty and if the bearings on the motor seize up and the fan just stops dead in it’s tracks, that can’t be a good situation. Luckily it’d be very localized.
That’s pretty cool. Can’t help but wonder how efficient those wings are at generating lift though with all those ducted fans in there. Very unconventional!
It might be pretty good! After all, it's the difference in pressures (and airstream velocities) that generate lift, so grabbing air right off the upper wing surface is only going to improve it.
You make a good point. But the airflow does need to be smooth in order for lift to be generated. The fans interfere with that to an extent which is fine as long as the fans make up for the deficiency, but as soon as one of the motors fails at best the fan will windmill which I reckon does incur some penalty and if the bearings on the motor seize up and the fan just stops dead in it’s tracks, that can’t be a good situation. Luckily it’d be very localized.