Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!cbnews!military
From: ae219dp%prism@gatech.edu (Devon Prichard)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Burt Rutan Goes Military
Summary: note on fighter speeds
Message-ID: <14453@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 3 Mar 90 06:08:47 GMT
References: <14403@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology
Lines: 42
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: ae219dp%prism@gatech.edu (Devon Prichard)




From: daniel@blake.acs.washington.edu (Daniel Perreault)

>Burt Rutan, the man who designed and co-piloted the first non-refueled non-stop
>flight around the world has designed and constructed a military jet. ...
>It is a fairly small jet with top speed ~500mph.

with the current level of capability of SAMs, the typical altitude of a
fighter mission may well be below 300 ft AGL. in that case, supersonic flight
is rarely possible. the aerodynamic and structural penalties for a 
supersonic-capable wing are quite high, so by limiting a fighter to
subsonic or transonic flight, substantial improvements in range,
payload, and low speed manueverability are made possible. most dogfight-type
encounters quickly drop down to the 300-400 knot speed (due to the
massive increase in drag at high G-levels overcoming the excess thrust
of the engine).  I imagine most fighter pilots in the dogfight scenario
would prefer more Sidewinders and fuel.

likewise, for both the attack and interdiction missions, supersonic
speed is not necessary. however, due to the time between bomber detection
and standoff missile launch, _sustained_ supersonic speed would be very
useful for the interception role.

I suppose trying to cover all attack/CAS/air defense/interception roles
with one aircraft is like trying to use a Corvette on a farm; it gets
you to the store fast, but not so good for mowing hay.





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 | Devon Prichard             making the world safe for helicopters ... |
 | ae219dp@prism.gatech.edu                                             |
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