Mainstream Engineering Awarded Contract from the U.S. Air Force for Development of a Rapidly Deployable Scaled Fighter for Aeroelastic Research

ROCKLEDGE, FL – May 15th, 2013 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 27-year-old Brevard County manufacturer with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all Made in the USA, has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force to develop a rapidly deployable scaled fighter for aeroelastic research.

Demand for higher performance aircraft has led designers to seek thinner wings that can support the aerodynamic and gravitational loads, thereby reducing the margin of error in acceptable structural deformation and increasing the likelihood of dynamic instabilities. Since the deflections of the aircraft’s structure influence the dynamic flight behavior, the evaluation of the fluid-structure interaction is critical to determining safe operational limits of new aircraft designs.

Although experimental testing of dynamic models has been performed for more than 50 years and a wealth of aeroelastic data exists, technical gaps remain. This effort seeks to close this knowledge gap by performing a detailed experimental effort.

This new Air Force contract will allow Mainstream to create additional engineering positions. “As all of us in the local technical community work to increase the number of advanced high-tech manufacturing opportunities on the Technology Coast, note I did not say Spacecoast, I believe this new Air Force contract award is one small step in a series of ongoing job-creating programs that are developing in Brevard County, thanks to the efforts of many of us working together,” stated Dr. Robert P. Scaringe, President of Mainstream.

About Mainstream Engineering Corporation
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development, and manufacturing small business founded in 1986. Our primary mission is to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage, and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, environmentally-safe green, commercial products. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers, and the QwikProduct™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products. Areas of advanced research include thermal control, energy conversion, engine and emissions research, turbomachinery, chemical technology, and materials science.