It is said that the best inventions of the world come from the accidental drawings made by some artists which later turn out to be serious additions to the service of mankind on earth. It may be someone’s wild thoughts; or the ramblings of a confused brain; the contemplations of a hyper mind that could lay the foundation stone for a breakthrough discovery.
It was no small wonder that this 23-year-old expatriate’s creation of a vertical landing flying machine, named ‘Sting R 12’ designed to help in rescue operation and crisis management situations, is the buzzword across the sci-fi world today. The science web sites in the US and Russia have already carried the story of Sting R 12 ever since he submitted the pilot project to tuvie.com, behance.net, and yankodesign.com.
Ramees Muhammed, Lead Artist, QGS Digital, part of the Quantum Global Solutions group, based in Qatar, has hit the headlines of tech publications which most of his peers hitherto considered unattainable with his Vetol (Vertical landing and take-off) aircraft concept that is suitable to operate where there are no runways and amidst the thick forests.
Ramees, who was inspired by the Marvel comic series, science fiction and American combat movies, which he used to watch for hours since childhood, has become a hot topic in the aviation circles and more demonstrations about the same were requested by the experts in the coming months. “In simple words, Sting R12 is a cross over between reality and fiction, as it exhibits the properties of a real life jet and science fiction vehicle. The contraption, which is a mixture of the attributes of a chopper and a jet, allows vertical takeoffs with the speed and nimbleness of a jet. The vision of this project is to make something that can come out of the TV screen instead of just appearing in sci-fi movies and make techies jealous of it”, said Ramees, who remains the humble youth even as he has received a lot attention, as he spoke to the Observer on his way back after a short visit to Oman recently.
Sting R 12 takes the shape of a sting ray fish but extends into a pseudo moth spreading its gigantic wings on either side. It is driven by two jet engines positioned right behind the fuselage. Two horizontal stabilisers are in use instead of the fin usually seen behind the body. Vectored Thrust or Thrust Vector Control technology is applied for the overall control of the aircraft. The nozzle controls similar to that used in rockets will control the thrust, thus making the technology quite different from others in use. Additionally, while the the landing and take-off controls are installed on the wings, the side-mounted air-intakes are on the left of the rear side of the engine. The Sting Ray 12 measures around 23.8 metres in length and 6.3 metres height with wingspan height of 4.38m. The wing area would be around 62.3 sq metres and the overall speed will be 1.8Mach. The angle-adjustable rotors, found below the two wings are crucial in that they help vertical landing and take-off. They will be further comple-mented by the wingtips that bend down and turn inward during takeoff or landing.
Vertical landing technology is not new to aviation. Helicopters and Harrier Jump Jets are based on the same technology of V/STOL (vertical/short takeoff and landing operations). Jump jets are of a family of military jet aircraft designed in the UK to operate from ad-hoc facilities such as car parks or forest clearings, avoiding the need for large air bases vulnerable to tactical nuclear weapons. Later the design was adapted for use from aircraft carriers. The Harrier is also distinct as being part of modern era, yet subsonic, contrasting with most of the major Western post-World War II-era attack aircraft, which tend to be supersonic.
“My idea can help carry out rescue operations atop the mountains or forests or inside a cluster of buildings serving as an air ambulance as it can land and take off anywhere and everywhere. What makes it doubly attractive is the less fuel consumption during the flight. This is possible if we can use carbon fibre composites while making the aircraft body, thus lightening the body weight”. These Sting R12’s can replace the traditional helicopters and can also carry as many as eight passengers, including the pilot, he claimed. It is so futuristic that one need to have a structured design and production line up evolved over time and serious technological advancements to develop such complex instruments.
Ramees is willing to conduct a demo for the Royal Oman Police as it can be an addition to the Force. For this, he plans to visit Oman very soon as some of his close kith and kin are residing in Muscat. Hailing from a small town called Edakkad in Kannur District of the south Indian state of Kerala, Ramees’ world was confined to the mundane shuttling between the packed buses and riding on the bikes during his college days. The only window to aviation was the costly aviation magazines and the game CD’s that his friends used to share with him.
“I’m not an aviation person but have a strong passion for flying. It was the sci-fi movies that redirected my wild thoughts and drawings to a different concept of flying. Currently, I am working with my cousin on a rough sketch of working principle of engines which are powered by primary jet engines. This may have some minimal impact on the body structure. Once that is confirmed, we will test it in virtual aerodynamic software. Yet this is just an idea to be implemented. We may have to face many challenges that may require engineering brains”.
It wouldn’t be far when the leading aviation names come forward to experiment the innovation of a young mind that dreamed of flying his own ‘machine’ in the vast skies. And, it wouldn’t be that far when everyone in this part of the world would be proud of a name that would hopefully be remembered in the history of flying.