4 ms·
Could very well be functional. The rippling looks to me similar to the rippling and unevenness of the SR-71, which wasn't smooth because a smooth surface would
by Sanddancer 12y ago
Could very well be functional. The rippling looks to me similar to the rippling and unevenness of the SR-71, which wasn't smooth because a smooth surface would be less stable at speed.
- aerocapture 12y agoActually, portions of the SR-71 skin were corrugated, much like the older (and much slower) Ford Tri-Motor, because the high temperatures of Mach 3+ flight caused the skin to expand and contract dramatically throughout the flight profile. This corrugation was actually against the wishes of the aerodynamicists, who would have preferred a smooth surface. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird
- serf 12y agoYep, and those planes leaked fuel like a sieve until the skin contracted and smoothed into the proper shape mid-flight.