On 29 Nov 2003 12:48:59 -0800, (frank wight)
wrote:

There was a time when I thought that
the blackbird could secretly hit 5 on the
mach meter--but isn't there solid science
agains this? Such as:

If you go faster than Mach 3.5 the bow shock off the nose will impinge
on the leading edge of the outboard section of the wing and melt it
off if you do it for very long. It's OK for a dash, but not for
cruise. That's pretty solid science.

I don't think the engines have the ability
to rev up to such a speed. Maybe the jet fuel
itself cannot produce sufficent BTU's (thrust)
to propel it that fast, maybe the fuel lines
are too small to exceed Mach 3.3

The SR-71 has dashed to Mach 3.5, so this isn't a problem.

Mary

--
Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer