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aviation - jets
@sahergul (774)
Pakistan
January 11, 2007 12:01am CST
It's two planes in one: Lockheed Martin's 14-ft. remote-control aircraft, developed at the company's Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif., uses double-hinged wings to radically alter its shape in flight. With the wings fully extended, the vehicle is optimized for high-altitude, long-loiter missions. With the inner sections folded against the fuselage, the plane becomes a high-speed ground-attack aircraft. Veriflex and Veritex polymers change shape to ensure a streamlined profile. The craft crashed while taxiing during tests last year, but the repaired vehicle should be ready for flight this summer. Eventually, similar technology will make Personal Air Vehicles more flexible in evolving weather conditions, improving the way civilians fly, too.
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