The Future of Flight: Experimental Aircrafts That Are Revolutionizing the Aerospace Industry

Today, we're flying high in the future skies and exploring some of the most innovative experimental aircrafts that are set to shake up the aerospace industry. From supersonic flying saucers to high-altitude aircraft that could stay airborne for a whole year, we've got it covered.

One of the most intriguing examples is the Defo, a miniature prototype of an unmanned aerial vehicle that stands for "all directional flying object" at slow speeds. The Defo flies like a traditional quadcopter drone when it needs to hover, but with two jets built into its back, it can provide horizontal thrust. While this prototype doesn't have jet power yet, its developers claim it will be able to fly upside down and reach supersonic speeds without a traditional sonic boom. The Defo's unique design could prove useful in the development of other unmanned aerial vehicles, combat aircraft, and sub-orbital vehicles.

The creators of the Defo are now looking for partners to help take this flying saucer to even greater heights. They envision a high-altitude solar plane that could stay in the air for a whole year, gathering environmental and atmospheric data, relaying internet and radio signals over long distances, or helping with military surveillance. The wings of this prototype are covered in solar panels, giving it a wingspan of about 32 feet - roughly one-third the size of the final version. While there's no word yet on when we'll see a full-sized APUs duo, we can expect to cover its development and impact in future episodes.

Another remarkable example is Phoenix, the first aircraft to fly like a fish. Most fish adjust their buoyancy and water by inflating and deflating their swim bladder, but Phoenix does it in a similar way, alternating between a heavier-than-aircraft and a lighter-than-air balloon by adjusting the amount of helium in its fuselage and releasing compressed air out the back for forward propulsion. Phoenix is battery-powered and its batteries are recharged by solar panels on the wing. Its developers aim to get Phoenix flying at an altitude of about 66,000 feet eventually, and it could become an affordable way to help launch micro satellites into orbit and relay digital communications.

The team behind Phoenix is currently looking for manufacturing partners to assist in the next phase of development. They're working towards a design that will provide flap-free flight, which could be cheaper, stealthier, and safer than traditional aircraft designs. In this test flight, the Magma UAV takes off using its flaps to maneuver like a traditional plane, but once airborne, it tests two new kinds of flight control: wings circulation control and fluidic thrust vectoring. These technologies involve blowing air supersonically through small vents around the wing to change direction and deflecting engine exhaust to maneuver the vehicle.

The benefits of these new flight controls are twofold. Firstly, they reduce moving parts on an aircraft, which means less maintenance and potentially lower costs. Secondly, they minimize disturbance to the surrounding air, reducing radar presence and increasing safety. This technology is purely experimental at this point, but the data gathered during test flights will be used to guide future research and development.

So, which experimental flight technology do you think will have the greatest impact on the aerospace industry? Share your predictions in the comments below. If you enjoyed this episode of futuristic flying tech, click here for more videos from Seen It. And don't forget to subscribe for more exciting content like this. That's all for this week, but we'll be back with more updates soon!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: entoday we're flying high in the future skies welcome to what the future on today's show we're taking a look at experimental aircrafts aiming to shake up the aerospace industry from supersonic flying saucers to a high-altitude aircraft that could stay airborne for a whole year the future is coming and we've got it covered let's get into it part flying saucer and part quadcopter this miniature is a prototype of an unmanned aerial vehicle called a defo which stands for all directional flying object at slow speeds a defo flies like a traditional quadcopter drone when a defo needs an extra boost two Jets built into the back provide horizontal thrust but this miniature prototype doesn't have jet power quite yet a Depot's developers say it will also be able to fly upside down and with the right jets could go supersonic without a traditional sonic boom a Depot's unique design could prove useful in the development of other unmanned aerial vehicles combat aircraft and sub-orbital vehicles right now a depos inventors are looking for partners to help take this flying saucer to even greater heights imagine a high altitude solar plane that could stay in the air for a whole year that's the vision behind the A+ duo high altitude pseudo satellite the APUs duo could someday be put to work gathering environmental and atmospheric data relaying internet and radio signals over long distances or helping with military surveillance the wings of this prototype are covered in solar panels it has a wingspan of about 32 feet roughly one-third the size of the final version no word yet on when we'll see a full-sized APUs duo but you can bet we'll have it covered feast your eyes on Phoenix the first aircraft to fly like a fish most fish adjust their buoyancy and water by inflating and deflating their swim bladder Phoenix acts in a similar way alternating between a heavier than aircraft and the lighter than air balloon by adjusting the amount of helium in its fuselage and releasing compressed air out the back for forward propulsion Phoenix is battery powered and its batteries are recharged by solar panels on the wing developers say their current goal is to get Phoenix flying at an altitude of about 66,000 feet eventually Phoenix could be an affordable way to help launch micro satellites into orbit and relay digital communications the team behind Phoenix is currently looking for manufacturing partners to assist in the next phase of development flap free flight could be cheaper stealthier and safer than traditional aircraft designs the Magma unmanned aerial vehicle is here to test that out in this test flight the Magma UAV takes off using its flaps to maneuver like a traditional plane once in flight however it tests two new kinds of flight control the first is called wings circulation control it involves air from the engine being blown supersonically through small vents around the wing in order to change the aircraft's direction the other type of control tested is called fluidic thrust vectoring for this test the engines exhaust is deflected in order to maneuver the vehicle less moving parts on an aircraft means less moving parts to manufacture and maintain which could lead to a cheaper aircraft this technology could also reduce aircraft's radar presence since these new flight controls are less disturbing to the surrounding air than adjustable flaps this technology is purely experimental at this point and the data gathered during these test flights will be used to guide future research and tests which experimental flight technology do you think is going to have the greatest effect on the aerospace industry let us know your predictions down in the comments for more futuristic flying tech click here and for more fun videos from seen it click right down here if you liked what you saw please like share and subscribe that's all for this week I'm your host Jesse Orel see you next timetoday we're flying high in the future skies welcome to what the future on today's show we're taking a look at experimental aircrafts aiming to shake up the aerospace industry from supersonic flying saucers to a high-altitude aircraft that could stay airborne for a whole year the future is coming and we've got it covered let's get into it part flying saucer and part quadcopter this miniature is a prototype of an unmanned aerial vehicle called a defo which stands for all directional flying object at slow speeds a defo flies like a traditional quadcopter drone when a defo needs an extra boost two Jets built into the back provide horizontal thrust but this miniature prototype doesn't have jet power quite yet a Depot's developers say it will also be able to fly upside down and with the right jets could go supersonic without a traditional sonic boom a Depot's unique design could prove useful in the development of other unmanned aerial vehicles combat aircraft and sub-orbital vehicles right now a depos inventors are looking for partners to help take this flying saucer to even greater heights imagine a high altitude solar plane that could stay in the air for a whole year that's the vision behind the A+ duo high altitude pseudo satellite the APUs duo could someday be put to work gathering environmental and atmospheric data relaying internet and radio signals over long distances or helping with military surveillance the wings of this prototype are covered in solar panels it has a wingspan of about 32 feet roughly one-third the size of the final version no word yet on when we'll see a full-sized APUs duo but you can bet we'll have it covered feast your eyes on Phoenix the first aircraft to fly like a fish most fish adjust their buoyancy and water by inflating and deflating their swim bladder Phoenix acts in a similar way alternating between a heavier than aircraft and the lighter than air balloon by adjusting the amount of helium in its fuselage and releasing compressed air out the back for forward propulsion Phoenix is battery powered and its batteries are recharged by solar panels on the wing developers say their current goal is to get Phoenix flying at an altitude of about 66,000 feet eventually Phoenix could be an affordable way to help launch micro satellites into orbit and relay digital communications the team behind Phoenix is currently looking for manufacturing partners to assist in the next phase of development flap free flight could be cheaper stealthier and safer than traditional aircraft designs the Magma unmanned aerial vehicle is here to test that out in this test flight the Magma UAV takes off using its flaps to maneuver like a traditional plane once in flight however it tests two new kinds of flight control the first is called wings circulation control it involves air from the engine being blown supersonically through small vents around the wing in order to change the aircraft's direction the other type of control tested is called fluidic thrust vectoring for this test the engines exhaust is deflected in order to maneuver the vehicle less moving parts on an aircraft means less moving parts to manufacture and maintain which could lead to a cheaper aircraft this technology could also reduce aircraft's radar presence since these new flight controls are less disturbing to the surrounding air than adjustable flaps this technology is purely experimental at this point and the data gathered during these test flights will be used to guide future research and tests which experimental flight technology do you think is going to have the greatest effect on the aerospace industry let us know your predictions down in the comments for more futuristic flying tech click here and for more fun videos from seen it click right down here if you liked what you saw please like share and subscribe that's all for this week I'm your host Jesse Orel see you next time\n"