09-12-2003, 00:32
here's the situation. i've pretty much teched myself into a corner.
i'm looking to design an fighter craft. mostly it has to perform well in a free-fall atmosphere environment and perform well in space. that is the fairly simple part.
here is where it gets tricky. as a result of the weapons tech employed, basicaly the stuff from hammers slammers, aircraft are flying targets. the weaponry used is line of sight energy weapons with ranges up to a few hundred kilometres. anything that can take a shot is basically too heavy to fly. right now, the answer has been to basically use a tank that has been redesigned for use in a free-fall atmosphere. that is not a very good solution for a space faring craft. the fuel costs to maneuver such a mass are prohibative. it works in stmosphere because of a ducted fan system.
so i figure, let's see what the other people on ns can suggest. i probably haven't described things very well so if there is any confusion ask.
i'm looking to design an fighter craft. mostly it has to perform well in a free-fall atmosphere environment and perform well in space. that is the fairly simple part.
here is where it gets tricky. as a result of the weapons tech employed, basicaly the stuff from hammers slammers, aircraft are flying targets. the weaponry used is line of sight energy weapons with ranges up to a few hundred kilometres. anything that can take a shot is basically too heavy to fly. right now, the answer has been to basically use a tank that has been redesigned for use in a free-fall atmosphere. that is not a very good solution for a space faring craft. the fuel costs to maneuver such a mass are prohibative. it works in stmosphere because of a ducted fan system.
so i figure, let's see what the other people on ns can suggest. i probably haven't described things very well so if there is any confusion ask.