4 ms·
Yeah, I wonder, would a suborbital ballistic trajectory save fuel compared to chugging along in the atmosphere? If this were to become common, would need some
by jabl 7y ago
Yeah, I wonder, would a suborbital ballistic trajectory save fuel compared to chugging along in the atmosphere?
If this were to become common, would need some thinking how to distinguish this from a ballistic missile attack, though.
- AceyMan 7y agoEven in conventional aircraft a parabolic flight plan (the vertical path) is optimally efficient, all other things being equal. In practice it'd be a nightmare to separate traffic. Additionally it'd increase the pilot workload significantly considering the cruise phase of flight is typically the "ahh, I'll order some coffee from back" time as the primary duties then are (a) monitoring aircraft state (i.e., scanning the gages) and, (b) changing the radio frequency each time the flight moves into a new sector and checking in with ATC. [me: aircraft dispatcher for a US carrier in a previous life]