Firefighting Dragon: a concept aerial firefighter, in 3D

Wyvern WX-4 is a concept machine: an aerial firefighter built in the shape of a dragon. Instead of making a pass and dropping its water, it aims a jet from a nozzle in its jaw at a fire below, steering it with its long neck. A turbine in its chest powers flight and the water pump, its wings are four metal finger spars with sliding fabric panels, and it perches on a dock to refill its tank. This field simulator shows how such a machine would work as one system. It moves between four modes: perched on its dock, wings spread, gliding to the fire and spraying a burning pad from above. Each assembly opens on its own (the heart, wing, neck, head and tail), the whole machine explodes into about 1,900 parts and back, and every reading, from turbine rpm and tank level to the load on each wing spar, is computed from the simulation. An 80 second operation tour can be played or scrubbed.