4 ms·

I once met P&W military engine designer (he was an expert on heat issues with turbines) who explained to me that fancy machines like this would never work. The

I once met P&W military engine designer (he was an expert on heat issues with turbines) who explained to me that fancy machines like this would never work. They will not fly reliably in anything but clear air (no precip). Although he was a turbine guy, he said propellers for low-speed aircraft are simple and just work.

jeffreyrogers 5y ago
It's amazing how many of these ideas have already been tried in some way or another. I thought I had a couple of clever, novel ideas for aircraft design, but then I came across this book[0]. The book is about technical progress more generally, but has a long section that goes over aircraft development (mainly focusing on VTOL). All sorts of things were tried from roughly the 30s-70s, including most of the stuff that is reappearing today. Basically every clever idea I thought I'd originated had already been flown, and while some worked okay, none were better in practice than what's been settled on commercially. [0]: https://www.amazon.com/Where-My-Flying-Car-Memoir-ebook/dp/B07F6SD34R https://www.amazon.com/Where-My-Flying-Car-Memoir-ebook/dp/B...