4 ms·
With a supposedly 10x improvement in an important metric (fuel consumption, together with reasonable speed and carrying enough fuel for range), there must surel
by rm445 6y ago
With a supposedly 10x improvement in an important metric (fuel consumption, together with reasonable speed and carrying enough fuel for range), there must surely be a big idea driving the change. Something that stands out.
I can't quite follow what specifically makes this aircraft special. I mean, it's an odd shape, and it has a piston engine. But what's driving the huge improvements? Improvements in CFD software driving aerodynamic design? Automotive technology bringing engine efficiencies? Some trade-off of stability that has previously been avoided but new avionics have overcome? The comparisons are all against business jets - is it in some way a well-designed propeller aircraft sitting in the space where the utility of jets versus propeller craft starts to cross over and small jets become inefficient?
I suppose it's not impossible that it sits in an unexplored area of the design space - a clever designer starting from a clean sheet of paper and ending up with something that works really well. But it would be extremely unusual after a century-plus of innovation. I don't like that breathless articles are written about this plane without any attempt to describe what the special sauce may be.
- fluffything 6y ago> had a maximum cruising speed of at least 450 miles per hour and a range of over 4,500 miles Given the shape of the airplane, I'd guess the 4,500 miles range is not at 450 miles per hour, but much much less. Also, it needs to fly very high, so you need to correct the time it takes to travel with this with the longer take off and landing times. It wouldn't surprise me if the "effective" velocity of this plane for long distances was more like 200 mph. I hope I'm wrong.