Great Planes that never were

Republic XF-12 Rainbow ^ | 08-15-2008 | Self

[valkyry1]

I have been wanting to get this topic on airplanes going for awhile. I hope some of you find an interest also.

[valkyry1]

See the ByPass Ducts?

[AFreeBird]

Here's a wallpaper porn...

[AFreeBird]

Yep, that’s why the spikes retracted inside.

[dighton]

Bella, bella. Mille grazie.

[valkyry1]

They exceeded 3.5, Wow what a flight that was!

[valkyry1]

Trivia Question (help me out folks)

What did the outer wing panel leading edge droop camber do for the aerodynamics low/hi speed on the SR-71??

[AFreeBird]

They exceeded 3.5, Wow what a flight that was!

Yea, and although he didn't reveal the numbers; the phrase "flat out scary" MACH numbers coming from a sled driver must mean: really haul'n ass.

[valkyry1]

More trivia questions:

How or in what new way did the B-70 and F108 Rapier designs resolve the area rule problem?

[valkyry1]

//The Mach eases to 3.5 as we crest 80,000 feet//

The Lockheed X-7 topped out at M 4.31, so my guess is M4 tops for the BlackBird fleet on conventional fuels.

[chaosagent]

When I worked at NASA-JSC a while back, an engineer who had worked on the SR-71 said they really didn’t know how fast it would go. That if you pushed the throttles to the wall it would just keep going faster and faster...until the engines blew up.

The article from the SR-71 pilot seems to confirm that.

[Salamander]

*Shrug*....I told the whole story here a while back so it’s archived in perpetuity.
[and part of my “permanent file” no doubt....LOL]

Years later, they were flying around everywhere, right in front of God and everybody so it’s not like I’ve blurted out some big gubmint’ secret or anything.....:))

[besides...everybody knows I’m crazy so who’d believe me?]

hee hee hee

[valkyry1]

There's only a few of us that would rate a [“permanent file”] so that means your’re special! LOL

[besides...everybody knows I’m crazy so who’d believe me?]

Catch 22!

[tlb]

>>>I’ll never see an XB-70 in flight

Maybe you won’t. Maybe you will. There is still a chance for the next best thing.

Aviation Week: Two-Stage-to-Orbit ‘’Blackstar’’ System Shelved at Groom Lake?

...many sightings of both an XB-70-like carrier and a spaceplane have been reported, primarily in the western U.S. Only once have they been seen together, though.

On Oct. 4, 1998, the carrier aircraft was spotted flying over Salt Lake City at about 2:35 p.m. local time. James Petty, the president of JP Rocket Engine Co., saw a small, highly swept-winged vehicle nestled under the belly of the XB-70-like aircraft. The vehicle appeared to be climbing slowly on a west-southwest heading. The sky was clear enough to see both vehicles’ leading edges, which Petty described as a dark gray or black color.

The SR-3 is the large, XB-70-like carrier aircraft,...

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/030606p1.xml

[tanknetter]

Hmmm... seems to me that extending the chines all the way up to the nose made for a sleeker bird.

Fraternal twins is probably the best way to look at it. Having seen examples of both (SR-71s at several museums, the A-12 that's was (and will be) on Intrepid up in NYC), the straighter chines, flatter nose, flat canopy/spine and lack of a tail protrusion of the A-12 create significant beauty over that of the SR.

Then there's the YF-12, which just looks plain evil.

[tanknetter]

From an engineering/design standpoint, what did the Russkies fail to account for and manage that our designers did not?

When they chose a Western design to reverse engineer into their new anti-XB-70 interceptor, they chose the North American A-5 Vigilante rather than the SR and went the brute-force route.

Personally, I don't think they ever could have really reverse-engineered the SR. There was so much to the aircraft that conveyed blindingly-fast speed beyond just marrying a titanium airframe with massive engines.

[mad_as_he$$]

That makes me shudder.

[Professional Engineer]

gnip

[Mashood]

Though the F-22 is pretty cool, I thought the YF-23 was even cooler. I wonder what advantage the 22 had over the 23?

[valkyry1]

I agree with you about the F-23. I read lots of stories on why the Lockheed F-22 design won over the Northrup YF-23, but I dont know.

The F-22 has thrust vectoring, but as I understand it that was not part of the Air Force requirements for the design.

There may be a future for the F-23, the two airframes were taken out of the museums a few years ago.

[Clay Moore]

for later