Mark Page | |
|---|---|
 Mark Page standing next to the NASA/McDonnell Douglas BWB-17 research model | |
| Occupation(s) | Aerospace engineer and Aerodynamicist |
Mark Page (born 1956) is an American aerodynamicist and aerospace engineer. He is most known for his contributions to the design of UAVs and Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft. He is currently the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at JetZero.
Page started his career in 1980 as an aerospace engineer for McDonnell Douglas. There he first worked on the MDF-100 and MD-XX programs, and as head of Stability and Control on the MD-91, 92, and 94 propfan programs. Following this, he worked as chief aerodynamicist on the McDonnell Douglas MD-90. Then, after moving into the Research group, Page headed Stability and Control for NASA R&D programs including the F16XL Laminar Flow Control testbed, High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) and Oblique Flying-Wing (OFW) programs. In his last three years at the company, Mark was technical program manager on the NASA/McDonnell Douglas BWB program where he developed the modern BWB configuration with Robert H. Liebeck and Blaine Rawdon. [1] [2] [3]
From 1997 to 2000, Page worked with All American Racers in their aerodynamics department working on AAR's Champ Cars program, eventually becoming their aerodynamics lead. [4] [5] Here he designed the aerodynamics for AAR's Eagle 987 and 997 Champ Cars. [6]
From 2006 to 2012, Page served as chief scientist at Swift Engineering, [7] developing designs for both their racecars and aircraft. In their racing department, he worked on the aero-shell design of Swift's racecars, including the Formula Atlantic Swift 014.a, Formula Atlantic Swift 016.a, Formula Nippon Swift 017.n, and their 2012 IndyCar proposal. [8] Page also designed the bodies for Gary Scelzi's Toyota Celica Funny Car that raced in NHRA, [9] and Toyota's 2004 Tundra race truck for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. [10] In addition to series racecars, Page also worked on the aerodynamics for the Mazda Furai concept car. In their aircraft department, Page designed the Swift Killer Bee UAV, the rights to which would later be purchased by Northrop Grumman and renamed the Bat, as well as designed the Eclipse Concept Jet in partnership with Eclipse Aviation. [11]
In 2012, after leaving Swift, Page co-founded DZYNE Technologies, where he served as vice president and chief scientist until 2022. [1] Here he worked on a number of projects, including designing the aerodynamics for the Beta Alia, [12] designing the Ascent 1000, a concept blended wing body jetliner, designing the Rotorwing, an electric whole wing VTOL UAV, and designing the all-composite diesel Mooney M10T trainer aircraft. [13] [14]
In 2020, Page co-founded California based aerospace company JetZero, where he currently serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). [15]
BWB program
From 1994 to 1997, Mark was technical program manager on the seminal NASA/McDonnell Douglas BWB program that developed the modern blended wing body configuration used today. [1] This program culminated in the BWB-17, an artificially stabilized 17-foot (5.2 m) model (6% scale) built by Stanford University, which was flown in 1997 and showed good handling qualities. [16] The BWB-17 was the direct precursor to the NASA X-48B and X-48C programs that further validated BWB design.
Swift Killer Bee
At Swift Engineering, Page designed the Swift Killer Bee, a medium-altitude unmanned air vehicle (UAV) designed primarily as an intelligence "ISR" gathering tool. Drawing on his previous experience designing blended wing body aircraft, the Killer Bee utilized blended wings that merged with the fuselage into a single airfoil to reduce aerodynamic drag, improve fuel economy and increase flight endurance. Swift claims this was the first UAV to utilize a blended wing design. [17] In April, 2009, the design and marketing rights to the Killer Bee were bought by Northrop Grumman and the project was renamed to the Northrop Grumman Bat. [18]
Eclipse Concept Jet
At Swift Engineering, in partnership with Eclipse Aviation, Page designed the Eclipse Concept Jet, a single engine concept jet intended to be a smaller 4 passenger offering to slot in below their existing 6 passenger Eclipse 500 jet. [11] The jet was designed and built in secrecy in only 200 days, making its first public debut at AirVenture in 2007, where it flew into the show. [19] The Concept Jet was later renamed to the Eclipse 400, but the project was cancelled in 2008 after Eclipse declared bankruptcy, with only one prototype having been built. [20]
Ascent 1000
At DZYNE, Page designed the Ascent 1000, a concept jetliner with a blended wing body design, intended to be a vision for the next generation of business jets and commercial airliners. The jet uses a single deck design with pivoting landing gear and the ability to hold between 120 and 200 passengers depending on configuration. DZYNE claims the blended wing designs delivers a 50% reduction in fuel consumption versus comparable tube-and-wing airliners, a reduction in noise, and triple the cabin floor space versus competitors in the business jet variant. [21]
Rotorwing UAV
At DZYNE, Page designed the Rotorwing, an electric VTOL whole wing UAV. The UAV can transition between using its wing as a rotor for VTOL and as a fixed wing for forward flight. [22] This design aimed to combine the benefits of a traditional plane's endurance with the versatility added by VTOL, while also allowing the Rotorwing to be used without a catapult, net, or runway for launch and recovery like many other UAV designs require.
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft that has no definite fuselage, with its crew, payload, fuel, and equipment housed inside the main wing structure. A flying wing may have various small protuberances such as pods, nacelles, blisters, booms, or vertical stabilizers.
Scaled Composites is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develop experimental aircraft, the company now focuses on designing and developing concept craft and prototype fabrication processes for aircraft and other vehicles. It is known for unconventional designs, for its use of non-metal, composite materials, and for winning the Ansari X Prize with its experimental spacecraft SpaceShipOne.
Alexander Martin Lippisch was a German aeronautical engineer, a pioneer of aerodynamics who made important contributions to the understanding of tailless aircraft, delta wings and the ground effect, and also worked in the U.S. Within the Opel-RAK program, he was the designer of the world's first rocket-powered glider.
The Boeing X-48 is an American experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built to investigate the characteristics of blended wing body (BWB) aircraft. Boeing designed the X-48 and two examples were built by Cranfield Aerospace in the UK. Boeing began flight testing the X-48B version for NASA in 2007. The X-48B was later modified into the X-48C version, which was flight tested from August 2012 to April 2013. Boeing and NASA plan to develop a larger BWB demonstrator.
A blended wing body (BWB), also known as blended body, hybrid wing body (HWB) or a lifting aerofoil fuselage, is a fixed-wing aircraft having no clear dividing line between the wings and the main body of the craft. The aircraft has distinct wing and body structures, which are smoothly blended together with no clear dividing line. This contrasts with a flying wing, which has no distinct fuselage, and a lifting body, which has no distinct wings. A BWB design may or may not be tailless.
Swift Engineering is an American engineering firm that builds autonomous systems, helicopters, submarines, spacecraft, ground vehicles, robotics, and composite parts. The Chairman and CEO is Hiro Matsushita, a former racecar driver and grandson of the founder of Panasonic, Konosuke Matsushita.
The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed for aircraft carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and subsequently became part of the United States Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The X-47B is a tailless jet-powered blended-wing-body aircraft capable of semi-autonomous operation and aerial refueling.
The Northrop Grumman Switchblade was a proposed variable sweep oblique wing unmanned aerial vehicle studied by Northrop Grumman for the United States.
A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines a rotorcraft as "supported in flight by the reactions of the air on one or more rotors".
The Northrop Grumman Bat is a medium-altitude unmanned air vehicle originally developed for use by the United States Armed Forces. Designed primarily as an intelligence "ISR" gathering tool, the Bat features 30 lb (14 kg) payload capacity that is unmatched in a 10 ft (3.0 m) wing span.
Ghatak is an autonomous jet powered stealthy unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), being developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Air Force. The design work on the UCAV is to be carried out by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA). Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft (AURA) was a tentative name for the UCAV. Details of the project are classified.
Richard C. Scherrer (1919–2018) was an aircraft designer notable for pioneering work on revolutionary aircraft designs with extremely low radar cross sections that led to the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit.
The Northrop Grumman RQ-180 is an American stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveillance aircraft intended for contested airspace. As of 2019, there had been no images or statements released, but growing evidence points to the existence of the RQ-180 and its use in regular front-line service. The use of the nickname "White Bat" in a 2021 video released by the US Air Force Profession of Arms Center of Excellence (PACE) suggests that the military may be preparing to release information on the RQ-180.
The Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout is an unmanned helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman for use by the United States Navy. The MQ-8C also has autonomous take-off and landing capability. It is designed to provide reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support and precision targeting support for ground, air and sea forces. The MQ-8C airframe is based on the Bell 407, while the avionics and other systems are developed from those used on the MQ-8B Fire Scout. It first flew in October 2013 and achieved initial operational capability on 28 June 2019.
Lift fan is an aircraft configuration in which lifting fans are located in large holes in an otherwise conventional fixed wing or fuselage. It is used for V/STOL operation.
The Boeing MQ-25 Stingray is an aerial refueling drone that resulted from the Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS) program, which grew out of the earlier Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program. The MQ-25 first flew on 19 September 2019.
The Airbus MAVERIC is an experimental blended wing body (BWB) unmanned aerial vehicle. It was built as a demonstrator for a possible full-scale BWB airliner. Airbus claims that this design can reduce up to 20% of fuel.