Stealthy duffel bag airplane

#The following describes an inflatable flying wing Unmanned Airborne Vehicle (UAV) that is relatively small, highly portable and extremely stealthy.

#The military has two obvious uses for a UAV—as a weapons platform and for reconnaissance. The forward observer has always been a problem. If he is close enough to see everything, he is also close enough to be discovered and attacked. As the action heats up the reliability and frequency of his observations goes down. The solution to these problems is a UAV carrying a sensor package; a solution that has long been recognized. By putting the pilot/observer at some distance from the target, he can be kept safe. At the same time his observations are essentially from close range and can therefore be very reliable. Because he is not in immediate danger he can remain on station for some time and continue reporting.

#The question then is not the value of an UAV, but rather, how to make one small and inexpensive, yet still able to perform useful missions.

#FIG. 1. Plan view of the Duffel Bag Airplane with the wings fully deployed.

#FIG. 2. Inboard Profile

#FIG. 3. Cross Section of the wing relative to the fuselage.

#The vehicle described herein has, in that regard, several advantages over conventional rigid structure vehicles. They are:

#1) Low Cost. Fabric construction, a small internal combustion engine and wing warping controls combine to make the Duffel Bag Airplane very inexpensive. Conventional aircraft are expensive due to the high tooling, fabrication and material costs. Fabric structures, by comparison, utilize construction techniques that do not require expensive molds or finishing processes and whose material costs are relatively low.

#2) Small Volume. Past (and current) UAVs, although smaller than full sized aircraft are still large and cumbersome. They need special facilities (e.g. landing gear and runways), if not for takeoff, at least for landing. The design discussed herein has deflatable, detachable wings that can be folded, rolled or stuffed into a small package, which will ease transportability and logistics.