Re:TGV unveils high-speed trains of the future
by carabiner on Thursday September 15, 2022 @02:31PM
(#32856400)
No, commercial jets have a blunt nose for structural reasons and pilot visibility while landing. SR-71, F-16 and so on all have pointy noses.
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Re:TGV unveils high-speed trains of the future
by deepnotderp on Tuesday September 20, 2022 @01:55PM
(#32915357)
This isn’t really true, the military aircraft fly faster and at those speeds pointy noses help.
Passenger airliners travel at slower speeds for which more round noses are actually better (eg to prevent flow detachment).
In fact, iirc I read somewhere that Airbus’s more blunt noses are the result of newer CFD-based design techniques whereas Boeing reuses their pointy nose from previous designs.
Re:TGV unveils high-speed trains of the future
by londons_explore on Thursday September 15, 2022 @02:44PM
(#32856619)
Pointy noses in military craft are to reduce the radar cross section - it actually performs worse.
A round nose has a flat bit at the front which reflects radar direct back towards the enemy that you're flying towards. Military planes generally have no surfaces facing directly forwards for that reason - even surfaces made of plastics reflect some radar when they get wet.
Re:TGV unveils high-speed trains of the future
by kevin_thibedeau on Thursday September 15, 2022 @03:25PM
(#32857268)
The F-16 has a targeting radar mounted on a flat bulkhead. It's nose is effectively transparent.