The vehicle will be powered by a phenomenon known as magnetohydrodynamics, the force created when a magnetic or electrical field is passed through a conducting fluid. In this case the fluid is plasma created by a series of electrodes covering the surface of the vehicle and ionizing the surrounding air. The resulting high pressure zone is used to create thrust and stabilize the aircraft.
The peculiar shape of the aircraft is necessary in order to maximize the area of contact between the surface of the vehicle and the surrounding air and reduce drag. Indeed this is not the first time that aeronautical engineers have used the saucer shape in aircraft design. The Russian EKIP aircraft exploited it's semi-saucer design to avoid needing large airfields for takeoff and landing. Unlike the EKIP though, Professor Roy's aircraft will be capable of vertical takeoff and landing.
It will be some time however before we see the WEAV replacing commercial airliners. The proposed prototype, on which a patent is currently pending, is only six inches in diameter. However, professor Roy says that theoretically their is no obstacle to scaling up the design to a much larger form.
Despite the diminutive nature of the initial design there are still plenty of applications for the prototype, including surveillance and navigation. Roy says that the miniature version of the aircraft could be fitted with cameras and lights and controlled from substantial distances. However, perhaps most intriguingly Roy believes the aircraft may be an ideal vehicle for the exploration and colonization of other worlds. Mars with it's lower gravity than Earth or Saturn's moon Titan with lower gravity and thicker atmosphere are obvious candidates, Roy believes.
The design for the propulsion system, on which the WEAV is based, was developed by Roy as part of his U.S.A.F-funded plasma actuator research. Both the U.S. Air Force and NASA have expressed great interest in the aircraft. The University of Florida is currently seeking to license the design. This is a very novel concept and if it's successful it will be revolutionary," Roy says.
Revolutionary indeed. The design will have no moving parts. Roy believes that the lack of components, such as jet turbines and propellers will prove the vehicle tremendously reliable. "The risk is huge, but so is the payoff ... If successful we will have an aircraft, saucer and helicopter in one embodiment," he says.
Several obstacles remain to be overcome though. No plasma vehicle has ever flown successfully within the Earth's atmosphere. Some designs have succeeded in space where gravity and drag are limited, but professor Roy notes that a vehicle in the Earth's atmosphere will need an order of magnitude more thrust.
Light weight power sources capable of producing enough plasma will be needed to create that thrust and the plasma itself will interfere with communications to the craft. However, Roy is confident that with such a unique design he will overcome all of these obstacles.
The production of the aircraft will be managed jointly by the University of Florida's mechanical and aerospace engineering department and its electrical and computer engineering department. So who knows. Perhaps some day the WEAV, or other flying saucers will be more than just fiction.
