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To: the scotsman

This is gotta be a scam for seeking funding, for a project they know will go nowhere, but which will keep them happily employed for a decade. In his book “Skunk Works”, Ben Rich describes his exploration of an SR-71 replacement concept that was to be hydrogen powered.

They decided it was a bad idea for a lot of reasons. A big one is demonstrated by the space shuttle. The giant external tank is mostly liquid hydrogen. Rich quickly learned you would need an enormous supply on board because they could not be refueled on a long flight. ( ie,,London to Sydney)
Also, it’s very dangerous to store and handle in large quantities. He described his trip to the national bureau of standards to meet with an expert about hydrogen and learn all he could. He describes how horrified that guy was when he asked how hard it would be to run a tank farm storing the stuff.

Hydrogen has it’s fine uses, but i doubt airliner fuel is one of them.


9 posted on 11/29/2012 10:14:39 AM PST by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
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To: DesertRhino

The materials I have studied said the hydrogen-fuel jet project was first. When it was abandoned, The SR-71 took shape, with Ben Rich’s major contribution being the Turbo/ramjet that was finally used.


25 posted on 11/29/2012 12:37:05 PM PST by Erasmus (Zwischen des Teufels und des tiefen, blauen Meers)
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To: DesertRhino

36 posted on 12/01/2012 10:19:12 AM PST by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both)
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