Witness the amazing aerobatics of this F-22 Raptor, which can attain speeds as high as Mach 2.25 (1,500 mph), as it hovers motionless in mid-air!
The F-22 engines produce more thrust than any current fighter engine. The combination of sleek aerodynamic design and increased thrust allows the F-22 to cruise at supersonic airspeeds (greater than 1.5 Mach) without using afterburner -- a characteristic known as supercruise. Supercruise greatly expands the F-22 's operating envelope in both speed and range over current fighters, which must use fuel-consuming afterburner to operate at supersonic speeds.
In his 1929 story Around the World in 24 Hours, R.H. Romans wrote about an amazing electric plane that could not only fly as a traditional plane, but could hover in place:
The weight of the car is regulated by the same method. The small spheres under the car produce a high pressure area while others above produce a low. When the proper electrical current passes through the spheres, the upward pressure against the car is exactly balanced by the force of gravity acting on the car, which becomes apparently weightless. But the wind would blow the weightless car away if other precautions were not taken. The rudder now acts as a weather vane and the nose of the ship is pointed windward. The ship is pointed toward the wind with a velocity exactly equal to that of the wind itself. I still have one hand on the control knob and as the velocity of the wind is seldom constant, I find it necessary to increase or decrease the power.
"That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago."
(Read more about the Atmospheric Pressure Control Plane)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/1/2021)
AI Enhances Images Your Brain Sees
'I could have sworn the psychomat showed pictures almost as sharp and detailed as reality itself' - Stanley Weinbaum, 1935.
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Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'