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Economy of flight at supersonic speedsPrandtl's theory is used to determine the airflow over bodies and wings adapted to supersonic flight. By making use of these results, and by incorporating in them an allowance for the probable skin friction, some estimates of expected lift-drag ratios are made for various flight speeds with the best configuration. At each speed a slender body and wings having the best angle of sweepback are considered. For the range of supersonic speeds shown an airplane of normal density and loading would be required to operate at an altitude of the order of 60,000 feet. The limiting value of 1-1/2 times the speed of sound corresponds to a flight speed of 1000 miles per hour. At this speed about 1.5 miles per gallon of fuel are expected. It is interesting to note that this value corresponds to a value of more than 15 miles per gallon when the weight is reduced to correspond to that of an ordinary automobile.
Document ID
19760012002
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Other
Authors
Jones, R. T.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 8, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1976
Publication Information
Publication: Collected Works of Robert T. Jones
Subject Category
Aerodynamics
Accession Number
76N19090
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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