Heritage Aircraft Design and Aerodynamics for Conservation and Low-Carbon Transport

Early aircraft designs incorporated low mass and sustainable materials such as wood and fabric. The Blackburn Type D, a single seat monoplane, is powered by a 37 kW engine. With a mass of 450 kg, this equates to a specific power of 82.2 W kg-1. As a comparison, an Airbus A320 has a specific power of 0.49 W kg-1. Modern aircraft store more energy and have greater maximum flight durations, yet electric aircraft which are suitable for transporting only small numbers of passengers are likely to emerge first. It is in this space that this project seeks to uncover useful innovations which can be translated into a modern context. Although vintage and modern aircraft have quite different aerodynamic profiles, "Are there lessons we can learn from heritage aircraft designs which will inform the design and construction of fully electric aircraft?"



With The Shuttleworth Collection, one of the world's largest collections of early 20th Century flying machines, this project will consider how the innovative features which enabled these pioneering aircraft to take to the skies might be translated and applied to 21st Century aircraft. Emphasis will be placed on mass and materials of construction, specific power and specific energy, as well as the carbon cost associated with manufacture and maintenance. Using computational fluid dynamics and Multiphysics simulations, three-dimensional digital models will be developed, enabling the lessons learned from the aerodynamic performance of these vintage aircraft to be applied to modern electric aircraft designs.



The project will also develop a practical and theoretical understanding of how fabric-covered wooden frames age under different environmental conditions. Light and humidity are of particular importance, as are the conditions to which airworthy heritage aircraft are exposed during airshows and in hangars. These natural materials tend to become brittle and less elastic as they age, and candidate conservation techniques can be tested using accelerated ageing protocols.