Tom Skeggs' Aerospace Flight Test Article (FTA "Defiance")

I have been corresponding with UK-based Tom Skeggs for quite awhile. What initially drew me to him was his conception for a 'Star Chamber' which would permit remote-viewers to interact in real-time via holographic projections.

But his current efforts are spent in constructing an Aerospace Flight Test Article (FTA) utilizing a Capacitor Discharge Propulsion System and Drag Reduction Skin via a high-powered Tesla coil to induce the Biefeld-Brown Effect.

The FTA has entered the machine shop and various sub-sections are being constructed. The flight-control computer has been purchased off-the-shelf and is being reprogrammed with VisualBasic.net code. Tom is having some problems finding such things as aerospace-rated aluminum and suitable power inverters for the computer. At some point I'm sure he would want to confirm his Tesla-coil designs with others who have expertise with such devices.

His current FTA site is at www.ftadefiance.org... ; the "Star Chamber" site is at www.stargate-web.org.uk... . I have converted his .html pages into MS-Word documents. These are listed at www.stealthskater.com...

The FTA design has been modified since his 1999 paper at www.stealthskater.com... , but that still should give you a good introduction. (The prototype models in that paper resembled the mythical TR-3B "Black Manta".)

The current FTA-related projects (from his web page) are archived at www.stealthskater.com... and www.stealthskater.com... for your convenience.

Some commonalities between the FTA and 'Star Chamber' appear in www.stealthskater.com... .

Regarding the introduction document you link to; FTA_01.DOC -- it says:

"Drag Reduction Skin
The Drag Reduction Skin would have used a Tesla coil with an output of around 500 Kilovolts (or higher). The Tesla coil was wired to an apex mounted at the top of the vehicle. The Tesla coil transmits an electric charge from the apex ahead of the vehicle and the ionized gas gives the surrounding air an electric charge.

The energized skin with its high voltage electric charge repels the surrounding air, and this reduces drag and friction on the vehicle. The actual triangular-shaped frame and its sharp wing tips & leading edges aids in the emission of the electrostatic charge and also helps repel the surrounding air reducing drag. The Drag Reduction Skin basically consists of a nickel-based paint which produces a rough electroconductive surface. This rough surface aids in the emission of the electric charge."

You say that this "FTA design has been modified since his 1999 paper" (FTA-01.DOC), so this may or may not be applicable - but I'd like to share the following thoughts anyway.

this technology is actually referred to as "electro-aerodynamics" or "electrostatic lift" and has been researched by some of the major aerospace corporations. I look forward to seeing him succeed.


A Little History
In 1968 Northrop submitted a paper to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics entitled "Electro-Aerodynamics in Supersonic Flow". The thrust (pun intended) of the paper had to do with drag reduction and cutting heat friction and fuel burn. It was also noted in this paper that plasma surrounding an aircraft actually reduces it's radar cross section.

It is widely purported by military aviation journalists that the Northrop-Grumman B-2 utilizes a high voltage charge on it's leading and trailing edge and quite possibly it's exhaust.
(in the March 9, 1992 "Aviation Week and Space Technology" magazine, it was reported that the B-2 electrostatically charges its exhaust stream and the leading edges of its wing-like body. Janes Defense Weekly and other reputable publications also picked up on this.)

The N-G paper "Electro-Aerodynamics in Supersonic Flow" espouses a dual-purpose technology that Northrop, the designer and manufacturer of the B-2 has known of for well over a quarter of a century and most likely has embedded this technology in the B-2.
This N-G paper and subsequent tests showed that electrostatic aerodynamic lift or thrust can indeed be generated in much the same way as explained by this site on Tom Skeggs' Aerospace Flight Test.

[Edited on 26-1-2004 by intelgurl]