In article ,
(The Enlightenment) writes:
(frank wight) wrote in message . com...
There was a time when I thought that
the blackbird could secretly hit 5 on the
mach meter--but isn't there solid science
agains this? Such as:

I don't think the engines have the ability
to rev up to such a speed. Maybe the jet fuel
itself cannot produce sufficent BTU's (thrust)
to propel it that fast, maybe the fuel lines
are too small to exceed Mach 3.3

Perhaps the real inhibitor is the lack of
enough combustible oxygen to feed the engines
to shatter established speed records.

I know that the outer metal shell of the
jet couldn't sustain the high atmospheric
friction.

Am I right about all this, or is there OTHER
things to consider?


The SR71 is limited in speed by the shock wave from the nose of the
aircraft impinging on the inlet lip of the engines over about Mach
3.5. The dash speed of the aircraft is not limited by either engine
thrust or or short term thermal issues.

Theoreticaly the A12 should be faster becuase of its shorter nose.

Uhm, Bernie - If one of the limiting factors in an A-12/SR-71's speed
is shock impingement, (Which it is, a;though IIRC it's shoc
impingement on the leading edges of the wings, not the nacelles), how
is a shorter nose going to give you a higher Mach Number? A longer
nose would allow a steeper included angle. (Y'know, all that Opposite
vs. Adjacent stuff from High School Trig.) Unless, of course, Shock
Waves work backwards in Australia?

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster