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US military to launch fastest-ever plane

Erod

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US military to launch fastest-ever plane | World news | The Guardian

By the time you finish reading this sentence, the Falcon HTV-2, the fastest plane ever built, could have flown 18 miles. It would get from London to Sydney in less than an hour, while withstanding temperatures of almost 2,000C, hotter than the melting point of steel.

The United States is so bad ass.

Halfway around the planet in less than an hour. Incredible.
 
It has been flying since the 90's. It was just recently declassified.

Here is a fun fact, in that aircraft at top speed, if you cross the California coast heading east and start a turn to the right, you'll be heading south somewhere in the neighborhood Louisiana.
 
Yeah, one would think you'd be plastered to the wall.

The theory of relativity....you only feel the acceleration, not the steady state speed.
 
How many poor bastards died for that thing?
 
The Falcon started life in 2003, part of a US military research project to build a plane that could reach (and potentially deliver bombs to) any part of the world in less than an hour.

We deliver all of your explosive ordinance in an hour or less...guaranteed!

Going that fast sounds cool. Having any issue whatsoever at that speed, not as cool.
 
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How can you ride in this thing and not automatically **** your pants when it hits full speed?

because it's the acceleration that ****s with you, technically the right time to **** your pants would be before it hits full speed.
 
They should just forgo the stratosphere altogether and shoot for a moon based laser beam.
 
The theory of relativity....you only feel the acceleration, not the steady state speed.

How long does it take to get to top speed?

Seems like if you floored it, your brain would be flattened in the back of your head to the thickness of a sheet of paper.

Of course, it never seemed to bother Hans and Chewy.
 
It is an unmanned aircraft.

Indeed - doesn't mean people didn't die ot bring it about. Anytime there's experimental **** being conceived and constructed someone takes a les sthan grand exit in secret.
 
Indeed - doesn't mean people didn't die ot bring it about. Anytime there's experimental **** being conceived and constructed someone takes a les sthan grand exit in secret.

well, people generally prefer not to climb inside wind tunnels and computer models.
 
How long does it take to get to top speed?

Seems like if you floored it, your brain would be flattened in the back of your head to the thickness of a sheet of paper.

Of course, it never seemed to bother Hans and Chewy.

It is just a typical solid state rocket that launches it into a suborbital path where it uses a scram-jet to accelerate to the faster speed. You are probably looking at 10-15 minutes from being on the pad to top speed. But, since it is unmanned, that isn't a factor.
 
Indeed - doesn't mean people didn't die ot bring it about. Anytime there's experimental **** being conceived and constructed someone takes a les sthan grand exit in secret.

Well, since we are being asinine, how many people died bringing your milk to the grocery store?
 
It is just a typical solid state rocket that launches it into a suborbital path where it uses a scram-jet to accelerate to the faster speed. You are probably looking at 10-15 minutes from being on the pad to top speed. But, since it is unmanned, that isn't a factor.

Dude, you ruined my Hans and Chewy line.
 
because it's the acceleration that ****s with you, technically the right time to **** your pants would be before it hits full speed.

Yea, it just amazes me that a human would be able to go through that acceleration and be fine afterwards. But I guess it's a moot point if it's unmanned.
 
Yea, it just amazes me that a human would be able to go through that acceleration and be fine afterwards. But I guess it's a moot point if it's unmanned.

3g's of acceleration is easily handled by the human body, and at that acceleration it would only take about 3.5 minutes to reach top speed.
 
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