henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (01/22/86)
> ... A lot of research is presently being done to... > find a way to decrease the effects of the shock waves... It's worth remembering that if you are sneaky enough, some of those effects can be beneficial. The XB-70A, in particular, was shaped so that at cruising speed (Mach 3!) the shockwaves from various parts of its body and wing combined to pack air under the wing, producing a tremendous improvement in lift/drag ratio. I believe the XB-70A wing had the highest L/D ratio ever seen in a supersonic wing, given optimum conditions. Which was why the XB-70A had a range of 6000+ miles at Mach 3, while most other supersonic aircraft have negligible range at anything much beyond Mach 1. Alas, the XB-70A was kind of expensive, and the optimization for a single speed doesn't adapt well to things like orbital vehicles. -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry