pictsidhe
Well-Known Member
The line has been down for over 3 hours at work so far tonight, so my mind has been wandering.
Years ago, I saw advertised helicopter plans using tip ramjets. Ramjets are useless at low speed, but up at mach 0.8 they are are about 6% efficent. Still lousy, but they have the advantage of simplicity and low weight.
Crazy idea tonight, it to have ram tip jets on a prop, but augmented by a prop driven compressor. I've run no numbers and I'm not sure if the efficiency loss from the higher jet velocity would be less than the gain from the higher pressure ratio. Might be good as a glider launcher if it worked?
Years ago, I saw advertised helicopter plans using tip ramjets. Ramjets are useless at low speed, but up at mach 0.8 they are are about 6% efficent. Still lousy, but they have the advantage of simplicity and low weight.
Crazy idea tonight, it to have ram tip jets on a prop, but augmented by a prop driven compressor. I've run no numbers and I'm not sure if the efficiency loss from the higher jet velocity would be less than the gain from the higher pressure ratio. Might be good as a glider launcher if it worked?