| Blockland Forums > Suggestions & Requests |
| plane and boat ideas |
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| Xerces:
Currently, scramjet technology is not used by commercial airlines, due to: A: Temperature. The air friction generated on the fuselage of the plane would generate more than enough heat to melt its aluminum skin. B: Airflow. The need for supersonic air pressure flow through the scramjet engine, to compress/ignite the fuel and produce the controlled explosion of thrust that propels the vehicle forward. C: Aerodynamics. A standard passenger airliner is not aerodynamic enough, and therefore the air friction would rip it apart at speeds of mach 6. D: Gravitational forces. The g-forces exerted on the passengers would be fatal without a proper pressure suit E: Materials. The materials used to survive and maintain speeds of mach 4-6 and the conditions stated above often include Titanium, ceramic composites, and carbon composites. These are often very hard to produce or acquire. Basically, that plane was a silly version of a true scramjet. The X-43A is one of Nasa's latest scramjets. If you watch the video, compare the size of the scramjet (the small, dark-gray, sleek vehicle mounted on the front of the rocket (which helps it with 'B' above) to the B-52 and then the launch rocket. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O1jsiSyq04 -Xerces |
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