This has got to be the stuff of "wonderment"
A commercial airliner that would rotate 90 degrees in flight to change from sub sonic
to supersonic configuration.
I think I will watch from the ground,
http://news.yahoo.com/supersonic-flying ... 35257.html
An aircraft that resembles a four-point ninja star could go into supersonic mode by simply turning 90 degrees in midair.
The supersonic, bidirectional flying wing idea comes from a team headed by Ge-Chen Zha, an aerospace engineer at Florida State University. He said the fuel-efficient aircraft could reach supersonic speeds without the thunderclap sound produced by a sonic boom a major factor that previously limited where the supersonic Concorde passenger jet could fly over populated land masses.
Zha's bidirectional flying wing kicks the general concept up a notch by essentially laying two flying wings on top of one another at a 90 degree angle, so that the aircraft faces one way for subsonic flight and rotates another way for supersonic flight. [Supersonic Biplane Design Stops Sonic Booms]
The midair transformation allows the aircraft to fly in its most fuel-efficient modes at both subsonic and supersonic speeds, Zha explained. Jet engines located on top of the aircraft in concept illustrations appear to rotate independently of the aircraft so that they can always point forward in flight.
Such midair spinning might sound unpleasant for people riding the aircraft. But a five-second rotation would only cause pilots and passengers to experience a "g-force" just one-tenth the force of gravity less than what airline passengers experience during takeoff. . . .
The picture is Trekie. What else. Ok, Star Warsy.
Moi
I refuse to fly with a fox, in a box, or with green eggs and ham, I will NOT fly, Thank You.