Pulse Detonation Engine - First PDE Powered Flight

First PDE Powered Flight

The first flight of an aircraft powered by a pulse detonation engine took place at the Mojave Air & Space Port on January 31, 2008. The project was developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc. The aircraft selected for the flight was a heavily modified Scaled Composites Long-EZ, named Borealis. The engine consisted of four tubes producing pulse detonations at a frequency of 80 Hz, creating up to 200 pounds of thrust (890 newtons). Many fuels were considered and tested by the engine developers in recent years, but a refined octane was used for this flight. A small rocket system was used to facilitate the liftoff of the Long-EZ, but the PDE operated under its own power for 10 seconds at an altitude of approximately 100 feet (30 m). Obviously, this flight took place at a low speed whereas the appeal of the PDE engine concept lies more at high speeds, but the demonstration showed that a PDE can be integrated into an aircraft frame without experiencing structural problems from the 195-200 dB detonation waves. No more flights are planned for the modified Long-EZ, but the success is likely to fuel more funding for PDE research. The aircraft itself has been moved to the National Museum of the United States Air Force for display.