explosive quick release wings anyone?
Spinning touchdown
An inventor from Bangkok is patenting an outlandish emergency landing system for aeroplanes.
Normally, when a crash landing is inevitable and no runway is in sight, a pilot would make a controlled belly flop to prevent the plane from ploughing into any buildings nearby.
But Polchai Phanumphai's idea is for aircraft to spin their way down instead. As a suitably fitted-out plane prepares to crash down, an altimeter would trigger explosive charges to make one wing break away from the fuselage and kick the one-winged plane into a horizontal spin.
Phanumphai says the spinning motion would produce lift in the same way as a helicopter's blades, while the centrifugal force should keep the body level. So, the inventor says, the falling plane ought to hit the ground relatively slowly.
The result, in theory at least, is a "reduced loss of life". But the inventor gives no clue whether the rapid spin might do more harm to the passengers than the crash landing itself. Any volunteers for a test flight?