The American company Scaled Composites showed a 3D-printed model of the Model 412 Encore aircraft at the AIAA SciTech exhibition. It is assumed that it can be used for research tasks.
At the AIAA SciTech exhibition, the famous American company Scaled Composites showed a model of an optional manned aircraft. It was displayed next to the model of the unique Scaled Composites Proteus - a high-altitude long-haul aircraft with a tandem wing developed for research purposes.
Like the Proteus, the Model 412 Encore was optimized for high-altitude flights: presumably, the aircraft will be able to climb to an altitude of about 20 thousand meters (the practical "ceiling" of the Proteus is 19 thousand meters).
A much clearer view of the newly-unveiled Model 412 Encore concept, courtesy of @AvWeekGuy 's cell phone camera. It's got a lot of White Knight in it, minus the booms extended forward of the wings. Probably has a tricycle landing gear then. https://t.co/e2DsBduSpN pic.twitter.com/rxjsasFHGx- Steve Trimble (@TheDEWLine) January 6, 2022
The developers plan that Encore will be able to carry a payload of about 4,500 kilograms: this should make it suitable for reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as various experimental and test tasks. The aircraft will be able to stay in the air for an extremely long time.
The choice in favor of an optional manned platform expands the range of potential tasks, and therefore increases the chances that the machine will find its customer.
The Model 412 Encore is currently at the preliminary design stage. Scaled Composites itself says that they have already presented the novelty to a number of interested customers. Now the company is looking for funding to continue development, including the creation of a flying prototype Encore.
One of the most famous developments of Scaled Composites is the Stratolaunch Model 351 carrier aircraft, which acts as an element of the Stratolaunch air launch aerospace system. It became the aircraft with the longest wing in the history of world aviation.
The Stratolaunch Model 351 made its first flight on April 13, 2019. Almost immediately after that, the project ran into financial difficulties, so the second flight took place only last year.
Stratolaunch Model 351
Image Source: Scaled Composites
During this time, his concept was rethought. Now the car is seen not as an aerial platform for launching rockets, but as a carrier for atmospheric and suborbital hypersonic vehicles.
Another novelty of the AIAA SciTech exhibition is the updated concept of a promising hypersonic aircraft from Boeing. It is assumed that it can be used to solve military or civilian tasks.
