SSTO Waverider Concept

[TSPenguin]

:speakcool::beach:
Nobody accuses you of something.
And this ship is something completely different, than the HyperWedge.
May the Furry Dicez comfort you!

 

[Coolhand]

oh sure, but if i had ended up with something that was just like gregs i would have changed it/abandoned it.

 

[TSPenguin]

What are you doing here anyway?!?
Get back to the Ravenstar landing gear!

 

[Coolhand]

procrastinating from work, if you must know...

 

[Coolhand]

Made a bit more progress on her tonight, i can't believe i'm making another of these but after some discussion with Doug, this might end up as an XR... something.:beach:

 

[tl8]

Made a bit more progress on her tonight, i can't believe i'm making another of these but after some discussion with Doug, this might end up as an XR... something.:beach:

How big is it, I would see it as a lifter for an xr1 or 2

 

[spcefrk]

Aerospikes would be better at lower altitudes. In low atmospheric pressures IIRC they're just as inefficient as traditional bell nozzles (the external pressure allows the exhaust to fully expand to the point that gases are producing too much vertical thrust to be efficient).

Also, you might consider putting the landing gear above. (Yes I know that sounds crazy) There was a lot of work on the X-43 before it was decided to be a throwaway vehicle to mount the landing gear on the top and have it land inverted (due to the gear length needed for a conventional configuration). That would surely be disorienting for pilots and passengers, but if this is to be unmanned or a test vehicle of some kind, it's not too extraordinary. The X-43 guys cited Navy black project experience with doing this so it's not terribly far fetched...

 

[TSPenguin]

I admit, I secretly wished for your next ship to be space only. But this is a nice thing in every aspect.

Aerospikes would certainly be a good choice (and show off your modelling skills). They allow for a very wide range of missions while delivering a steady propulsion.
I don't know about the landing gear on top... It'll certainly be a most ugly and disorienting feature. (Imagine you show the final ship to someone and the gear comes out the top ) Maybe spcfrk is right and it is in fact an elegant solution. I would like to see it in any way!

Happy Orbiting

 

[James.Denholm]

I'm sorry Coolhand! This looks nothing like the Hyper-Wedge, it's a lot "fuller". And different. And I like it! But stop mucking around here, get back to your grey pidgeon/raven thing.

 

[tblaxland]

Top mounted landing gear would also mean that wouldn't have tricky landing gear doors in your heat shield, thus improving its integrity.

 

[TSPenguin]

With the landing gear on top we could finaly land on the southern hemisphere!!!
(sorry, couldn't resist)

You would also need a pretty big landing gear that way because of the ailerons in the back. But then again, with the air intake on the belly, you need a very big one there too.

How would the landing approach look like? How are the aerodynamics of this shape?
Would you fly to a specified point, turn around and 'brick it in' a la Space Shuttle, or could you actualy fly it upside down?

 

[jedidia]

coolhand getting officially employed by Altea? I love the thought! :speakcool:

 

[Coolhand]

lol. it will have a conventional landing gear arrangement. Would you like your airliner to land upside down? how much of a pain would it be to get into/outof your seats? heh.

 

[James.Denholm]

So it's bigger, yet sleeker than a XR5. Looks better (in a contempary way) too. I like. :speakcool:

 

[joiz]

my god, it's HUGE!

 

[James.Denholm]

My god, it's full of stars!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

 

[GregBurch]

Made a bit more progress on her tonight, i can't believe i'm making another of these but after some discussion with Doug, this might end up as an XR... something.:beach:

That is ... gorgeous!

BTW, I agree with what Coolhand said: Within certain parameters, Mother Nature is the designer, so proper solutions to engineering and design problems end up converging on just a few zones in the over-all "solution space." What Coolhand has done here is internalize the recent hypersonic R&D that's been going on, and then apply a real artist's inspiration to it.

 

[dbeachy1]

Steve, that mesh looks really sweet! I like the size, too. I do think she'll need somewhat larger wings, though, in order to be able to lift heavy payloads. Of course, the mesh is still early.

I have visions of the XR7 running through my head... :beach:

 

[Coolhand]

That is ... gorgeous!

BTW, I agree with what Coolhand said: Within certain parameters, Mother Nature is the designer, so proper solutions to engineering and design problems end up converging on just a few zones in the over-all "solution space." What Coolhand has done here is internalize the recent hypersonic R&D that's been going on, and then apply a real artist's inspiration to it.

Thanks Greg, quite honestly i'd totally forgotten you'd built the hyper-wedge - you've built so many cool ships. i think it's interesting to see what the differences are between the designs, like how we've both got variable geometry wings but yours flip down, mine swing out.

Doug, 7's my lucky number:beach: have you seen the swing wings? i've taken them out for the time being to rebuild the wing but they will come back.

For vertical takeoff, i was thinking that it won't be able to takeoff vertically at all, on earth.. however relatively low powered engines near the bow, combined with the rear rockets being able to rotate 90 degrees to point down should enable vertical takeoff and landing on the moon.

The ships low vertical thrust power combined with it's weight would make a lunar landing very tricky if you don't know what you're doing. Assuming the rotating main engines could be made to work. it would also make it a tricky challenge to switch from vertical thrust to forwards flight... Obviously it also introduces challenges in control and coding design that might be difficult to overcome so i'm interested in what you think about that.

 

[tgep]

I like where you're going with this.
The similarity of the 2 designs is a bit like Axis x-craft and the Lockheed designs that were played with in WWII. Both were looking into the same performance specs for a certain type of craft and so had many characteristics in common.