Re:New NASA X-Plane Construction Begins
by ambicapter on Tuesday April 10, 2018 @10:12AM
(#16801486)
I hope that nose is really light. Reminds me of the X-3 Stiletto which, from what I read, has been called an awful plane to fly (My intuition would say that its due to inertial characteristics, same reason the F-104 was so dangerous to fly).
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It would have to be. Look how far back the nosewheel is. That nose is going to be like a baseball bat when this thing is taxiing around.
It's so comically long that you kind of want them to put a hinge on it way back at the cockpit so it can swing upright and let the pilot see where he is going when he's on the ground.
These days, rather than a Concorde-style hinge, you'd probably just put a stereoscopic pair of cameras in the nose and use a VR headset.
That wouldn't solve the giant club problem. Or you'll have the disorienting sensation of turning the wheel and having your POV swing sideways instead of pivoting. Possibly barf inducing since your body would be pivoting.