Hi folks!
It's me I'm back! Not that I v'e ever actually been on the list, but I now
actually have a computer account, but I have contributed before, much to
every ones chagrin, but I hope that you will put that behind you and accept my
formal and humble request to join your list. (PLEASE!?)
Now that I'm a grad student I won't have the time to bug you all with loads of
craft designs so you can all breath easy.
Has anyone out there noticed that the thrust to weight ratios in trav and the
speeds predicted are totally crazy? you need a ratio of 1G to get to 1200kph!
or something like that. Here is a partial list of real data points.
aircraft t/wt top speed
Tu-22 .2917 1480kph
B-1A .3038 2232kph (original design speed)
Tu-26 .4190 2445kph
F-111 .4590 2655kph
Mig-25 .7168 3380kph
SR-71 .3824 3186kph some of these speeds may be low but that
makes them a safe bet.
Of course changing the existing speeds means a revolution in speed for all
vehicles. However I must point out that the thrust generated by all trav
turbine engines is hugely exaggerated. the highest thrust engine I have found
are the high bypass turbines of the 747 ie 21 metric 'tons' of thrust. followed
by the 18 'ton' thrust of the twin engine Tu-26 mach 2 heavy bomber(engines
originally develloped for the Tu-144 supersonic transport)
so we have to revamp COACC's engines thrust output too!
By the way, has anyone ever considered the possibility of broadcast power in
trav? New power plant Idea #765
Same size weight cost output etc as a fission reactor but no fuel!
Power input? decaying mesons from a meson gun. Required: Direct
coommunications link to power source (if military must be at least a maser comm
we don't want that signal varying or subject to jamming!) Probably a max range
of Planetary where meson gun accuracy starts to fall off.
#766 Laser powered boiler. Solar cells would get burned off to easily, but
suppose you have a non X-ray laser captured by a parabolic mirror and focused on
a collector (perhaps defocused to prevent burning the plant to slag) again
planetary range restrictions (beam columation problems)
Object will have very low agility when at long range. course changes must
be sent to the power source in advance to maintain beam focus. Of course if
the vehicle is using a radio to maintain its link it is broadcasting its
position for all to hear... Just what a gunner wants to know...
Still it is an interesting idea yesno?
Anyway, I hope this gets through, I never have used a VAX before.
Scott S. Kellogg
P.S. Half of the Vargr you meet are sons of bitches.
The other half *are* bitches!