Although, the body can withstand stronger negative G's for a shorter time period than somewhat weaker G's for a longer interval. Also, that 1-2 m crush depth doesn't bring them to a full stop, as would be the case for a ground landing. The end-all requirement is that the peak G's weighed with the time interval needs to be within the survivable window for 99.xx+% of passengers.
One variation I thought of for John C's crushable nose is to add some small cold gas thrusters to the tip. This would allow some steering before ground contact, allowing the tip to be parallel with the near- ground velocity vector, ensuring even crushing. Of course, the cold gas thrusters would be smashed also, but should be well encapsulated within the rest of the crushed nose. Provisions for making sure the valve controlling those thrusters is shut before contact will be needed. Dan In a message dated 5/29/03 9:36:35 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << Remember, that's with a crush distance of only 1-2m. Increasing that distance by an order of magnitude has much the same effect as putting the crash at an oblique angle. >> _______________________________________________ ERPS-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.erps.org/mailman/listinfo/erps-list
