YAKIMA, Washington — CubCrafters, a manufacturer of Light-Sport and Part 23 certified aircraft, has begun testing a new engineering innovation — Electric Lift Augmenting Slats (ELAS) — designed to “dramatically increase wing lift.”
The technology combines electric ducted fans with leading edge lifting slats to accelerate airflow over the wing of an aircraft, company officials explained.
“Ongoing testing points to a likelihood for significant reductions in takeoff and landing distances on fixed-wing aircraft with ELAS installed,” officials added.
By increasing the velocity of the airflow over the top surface of a wing, ELAS lowers the air pressure above the wing, increasing the lift it can generate. The system also allows the wing to achieve better aerodynamic performance at slower speeds and higher angles of attack, reducing the stall speed of the aircraft and improving its slow speed handling characteristics, CubCrafters officials explain.
“ELAS is a practical way to enable fixed-wing aircraft to achieve shorter takeoff distances, steeper approaches, slower landing speeds, and minimal ground roll,” company officials said in a prepared release. “By adding leading edge slats with multiple integrated electric ducted fans, ELAS creates high energy airflow through and around the slats — airflow that ultimately boosts lift by a factor of 1.5 to 4.0 depending on the airfoil geometry and flight conditions.”
“With comparatively low acquisition and operational costs, ELAS is a disruptive concept that carries unprecedented benefits, including enabling fixed-wing aircraft to operate outside of designated airports and manage much higher payloads versus comparable eVTOL aircraft — all while enhancing safety,” said Patrick Horgan, CEO of CubCrafters.
The technology can be added to an existing airframe or built into the wings as original equipment, and can be designed as retractable when not in use.
The company notes that ELAS is being tested in collaboration with CubCrafters’ research institution partner, Oklahoma State University School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering.
“Extensive computer simulations and wind tunnel testing, both at Oklahoma State University and our own facilities, are being used to refine the design in preparation for a comprehensive test flight program using a CubCrafters X-Cub test airplane configured with the ELAS prototype system,” Horgan said.
“As our research and development continues, ELAS may prove to have the ability to dramatically enhance the short field performance capabilities of fixed-wing aircraft in general aviation as well as commercial aviation,” he said.
The patented technology has garnered two research grants from NASA to partially fund the project, CubCrafters officials added.
Hmmmm… a VERY important issue with ‘slower flight’ is controllability.
I noticed that there were no mods to the horizontal-stab/elevator or vertical-stab/rudder for enhanced low speed pitch/yaw controllability.
MOST STOL mods need enhancements for extreme slow speeds due to grossly reduced pitch/yaw power [forces] for positive/active control.
Rube Goldberg would have been proud to see this contraption. Review what happened to August Raspet when he was doing something similar in 1960. I would suggest that Cub Crafters ought to focus more on lowering their costs for conventional aircraft.
Agree with You, Mr. Kent Misegades. Beyond the cost and the inconveniences brought by the installation of those electric lift augmenting slats (think the work implied in cleaning the those slays and fans), the drag they imply will turn the CubCrafters X-Cub in a much slower a/c, in exchange of a very few hundred feet (or, presumably, much less) in gain for take off and landing. Of course, unless they just wanted an a/c that is in all aspects a slower mean of transportation.