Nuclear Powered Aircraft Projects

[Orionblamblam]

5 years ago, there was a discussion about a "quantum nucleonic reactor powered Global Hawk".
Source: New Scientist - 19th February 2003 - Nuclear-powered drone aircraft on drawing board

It's a pity that the hafnium isomer nuclear battery concept turned out to be bunk. It's a neat neat... zap a hafnium isomer with Xrays and the isomer will release up to 60 times the energy; shut the Xrays off and the reaction stops, and you're left with a *non*radioactive chunk of metal. Tur the Xrays back on and it starts up again. A wonderful concept. That nobody was able to replicate. Sigh... more "cold fusion."

[Michel Van]

t's a pity that the hafnium isomer nuclear battery concept turned out to be bunk.

that sad, i like the idea
lets put to rest of "flash in pan stuff"
like E-115, Cold fusion and Nazi UFO engine...

has Anti Matter power Jet Engine still a intrest at USAF ?

[lark]

Hesham,
The site you mentioned is incorrect about the designations for the nuclear powered projects. 
For exemple L-212 was a bomber crew training variant of the L-12 Electra Junior...

[Orionblamblam]

For exemple L-212 was a bomber crew training variant of the L-12 Electra Junior...

Lockheed L-212-A14 was a nuclear powered bomber (the one in the box)

[Jemiba]

From Aviation Week october 1967, concepts studied by the USAF.As the article says,
mainly to analyze roles, nuclear powered aircraft could be used for.

[Maveric]

Hi Orionblamblam,

can you name the other air craft in your picture?

Thanks and Servus

Maveric

[Matej]

Scheme of the hafnium isomer battery and weired manned Global Hawk idea from the mentioned Popular Mechanics article.

[lark]

Yes indeed , L-212 is mentiond in Bill Slayton's list (AAHS) as a nuclear powered design
but model 212 -as a 12 derivative- is mentioned in Lockheed Aircraft since 1913-Putnam.R.J.Francillon.
Could be confusion between 'L" and "Model" ....

[Orionblamblam]

Hi Orionblamblam,

can you name the other air craft in your picture?

Yes. Yes I can. 

[Spring]

I wonder if radioisotope thermoelectric generators were considered as propulsion systems, maybe for light UAVs?

[Orionblamblam]

I wonder if radioisotope thermoelectric generators were considered as propulsion systems, maybe for light UAVs?

You'd have to be insane to do so. Power output of RTG is measured comfortably in *watts.* Not kilowatts, not megawatts.... just watts. Cassini's RTG, for example, has an electrical power output of 300 watts/thermal output of 4400 watts, and weighs more than 50 kg. The engine of a light aircraft can be assumed to have a power output measured in hundreds of kilowatts, and would weight roughly the same as the RTG.

RTG's make great long-lived batteries... but their power to weight ratio sucks.

[Spring]

Would be interesting if somebody shows a RAD table to compare the radiation between Pu-288 and Sr-90 or Cb-60, i think cobalt or strontium have better values than Pu (used on cassini), but then..im not nuclear engineer

The cassini generator use some kind of direct transformation from heat to electricity, not sure how could perform with a conventional mechanical cycle (stirling, since it seems the temperature is not high enough to use water/steam)

[Orionblamblam]

Nuke bomber miscellany, now with some labels.

[mboeller]

5 years ago, there was a discussion about a "quantum nucleonic reactor powered Global Hawk".
Source: New Scientist - 19th February 2003 - Nuclear-powered drone aircraft on drawing board

It's a pity that the hafnium isomer nuclear battery concept turned out to be bunk. It's a neat neat... zap a hafnium isomer with Xrays and the isomer will release up to 60 times the energy; shut the Xrays off and the reaction stops, and you're left with a *non*radioactive chunk of metal. Tur the Xrays back on and it starts up again. A wonderful concept. That nobody was able to replicate. Sigh... more "cold fusion."

The Air Force institute of technology had released even 2 PDFs about a hafnium178 powered Global Hawk UAV:

Link:  https://research.maxwell.af.mil/papers/ay2002/afit/afit-gae-eny-02-6.pdf

The other study "afit-gae-eny-01m-04.pdf" seems to be no longer available.

[amsci99]

Scott,

Would the hafnium-isomer powerpant proposed by the Popular Mechanics article be practical under real world considerations?