Re: LCA goes supersonic

[Thomas J. Paladino Jr.]

"Tuollaf43" > wrote in message
om...
> India's home built fighter aircraft went supersonic today for the first
time.
>
> http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2003080205100100.htm

Thats a good achievement for them.

But, their wing commander should probably brush up on his aviation history:

"Later, Wg. Cdr. Vikram Singh stated that the maximum speed achieved by any
aircraft piloted by a human being was Mach 3, that is, three times the speed
of sound. An aircraft moving at Mach 1, which is the speed of sound, will
cover about 334 metres a second."

Which, to clarify, is not actually true. The SR-71 was capable of just over
Mach 3, and the X-15 got close to Mach 7. Technically, the space shuttle is
also an aircraft when it re-enters the atmosphere, and it does that at Mach
25 (though calling the space shuttle an aircraft is splitting hairs).

[enlight]

Tuollaf43 wrote:
> India's home built fighter aircraft went supersonic today for the first time.
>
> http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2003080205100100.htm

There is an interesting and picture rich article about the Indian LCA to
be found here.
http://almavijai.sphosting.com/India/Defence/Air/LCA.htm


Take a look - It's well worth a read.

-------------
enlight

[The Enlightenment]

"Thomas J. Paladino Jr." > wrote in message
...
>
> "Tuollaf43" > wrote in message
> om...
> > India's home built fighter aircraft went supersonic today for the first
> time.
> >
> > http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2003080205100100.htm
>
> Thats a good achievement for them.
>
> But, their wing commander should probably brush up on his aviation
history:
>
> "Later, Wg. Cdr. Vikram Singh stated that the maximum speed achieved by
any
> aircraft piloted by a human being was Mach 3, that is, three times the
speed
> of sound. An aircraft moving at Mach 1, which is the speed of sound, will
> cover about 334 metres a second."
>
> Which, to clarify, is not actually true. The SR-71 was capable of just
over
> Mach 3,


Mach 3.6 which were reached in actual operations when outrunning a SAM.
Speed was limited by the shock wave cone moving back and impinging on the
engine inlets not engine power or thermal limitations.

[Mary Shafer]

On Mon, 04 Aug 2003 00:51:26 GMT, "The Enlightenment"
> wrote:

> Mach 3.6 which were reached in actual operations when outrunning a SAM.

Nope. 3.5 dash on a flight test. No SAM ever got that close.

> Speed was limited by the shock wave cone moving back and impinging on the
> engine inlets not engine power or thermal limitations.

Not so. Above Mach 3.5 you get shock impingement on the leading edge
of the wing, which is why you can only do it in a dash. And you'll
exceed the CIT limit, which is, usually, reached at Mach 3.23.

Mary

--
Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer