Might be true Giles. Up until the F22, accelerating to and maintaining
supersonic speed has required the use of loads of fuel, and supersonic
military aircraft cannot carry much of it. The Tornado can use a tonne
of fuel per minute in certain conditions. Add to that the inexplicable
antipathy that the general public has demonstrated for activities which
can blow out their windows and collapse their greenhouses ....
The F22 is supposed to have an improved engine etc... which allows it
to cruise ("super cruise") supersonic. However, aircraft
manufacturers, especially of military aircraft, are infamous for their
hype. Once you put useful stuff on the aircraft and increase the drag
it is likely that this facility will become a dream again.
Chis
On Tuesday, Jun 17, 2003, at 21:27 Europe/London, Giles wrote:
An interesting item I once read claimed that each concord in service
has spent a greater number of hours in actual "supersonic" flight
than the combined total for all the worlds military aircraft.
I don't know how true this claim is but I found it interesting.
Giles
<|_:-)_|>
C M I Barker
Cambridgeshire, Great Britain.
+44 (0)7092 251126
ftog at threeshoes.co.uk
http://www.threeshoes.co.uk
http://homepage.mac.com/zuiko
... a nascent photo library.
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|