"Jim Knoyle" wrote in message
...

"leadfoot" wrote in message
news:50une.14524$7p.11605@fed1read06...
I was told by one of my college math teachers that there was an
engineering calculation in the early sidewinder days that involved a
division by ZERO. No one could figure it out so they ignored it. The
missile when launched destroyed itself in flight and the fix was to place
a cross member in the body of the missile which then made the equation
work properly

Can anyone confirm or or deny this srory?

Could have been sparrow but I'm pretty sure he said sidewinder.
Instrucor was often freelancing as an emgineering consultant

Sounds something like the installation of the mask dead ahead
in the seeker so that it essentially aims for a point where it
does *not* detect the heat source. That solved a lot of problems.

Would it's abscene cause the missile to destroy itsekf in flight?


JK