ARDA Mk3 - The "Power On Board" test

Advanced Reduced Drag Aircraft
By Jean-Louis Naudin
created on November 27h, 1999 - JLN Labs - Last update December 4th, 1999

The "Power On Board" test (POB test) is a great step for the ARDA Project. The purpose of this test is to prove that a Biefeld-Brown effect flying wing is able to generate its OWN THRUST with its power supply "on board" and disconnected from the ground. This proves definitely that the ARDA Concept is real and can be applied on a full scale craft. (see the ARDA Mk3 pictures and details)

In a previous test with the 1/4 scale mockup (see "The closed loop run"), I have demonstrated that a light ARDA wing is able to propel itself, but in this case the HV generator was outside and someone could have said that the observed thrust was generated by the influence of the surrounding wiring setup (the frame) and some pure electrostatic forces due to HV generator placed outside the wing.

So, to prove that the thrust is not generated by the wiring frame around the ARDA wing, this test uses a big and heavy ARDA wing ( 3.7 kg ) with its own HV power supply "on board".

The "Power On Board" test has been done successfully on November 27th, 1999 ( 16h00 )...

The weather conditions were not fine (winter), there was no wind but it was a bit rainy, so the hygrometry was not very suitable for the HV generator.

The ARDA Mk3 with the POB has been tethered by a nylon rope on a special suspension apparatus.

The ARDA wing was completly ungrounded, you may see on the right side the antenna wire for the receiver,
all the commands (HV power on/off..) have been transmitted by a radio control system.

...there was no wind but a bit rain, so the hygrometry was not very suitable for the HV generator....

The ARDA wing has been tethered on its center of gravity by the motor pylon.

The "Power On Board" TEST RESULTS :

The ARDA Mk3 wing has previously been set on a stable position with no initial motion. When the High Voltage (30kV) was remotely energized, the wing began to translate gently and silently forward ...

THE ARDA Concept is now a reality....

Today, only two tests have been done (see the videos below), because during the 3rd test the HV generator flashed out due to the high hymidity level, so no measurement about the turn speed and thrust could be done....

See the videos of the POB Test below :

RealVideo of the POB Test run 1 (176kb)

RealVideo of the POB Test run 2 (150kb)

( if you don't have the RealPlayer 5.0, you may download it freely at : http://www.real.com/products/player/

GREAT EVENT : Dec 4th, 1999 - "The Power On Board" test in a closed a run

Email : JNaudin509@aol.com

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