On 18/01/2014 23:33, Onno Meyer wrote:
* TL10 fusion air-rams are tricky engines. Ordinary ramjets work only over 375 mph, turbo-ramjets also work at low speed. If you assume that fusion air-rams work at low speed, what is their non-ramjet mode? Something like ducted fans? If so, why not take the real thing? Of course fusion air-rams are lighter than ducted fans. Hard to explain.
I would assume it's like a turbojet. Certainly the exhaust would be hot and high velocity, and not at all like a ducted fan's, so there'd be the same unpleasantness around one working as a left jet that there is around any other lift jet. As for its greater efficiency, the fusion air-ram has a specialised power source built in, which might quite reasonably be more efficient that a separate power plant and fan.
* A hovertruck needs considerably less thrust than a flying truck. One idea is to have sufficient fans but not enough power for flight, with 'booster' power cells to make up the shortfall. Say a hovertruck for ten tons of suits is 20 tons Lwt, while a flying truck is 30 tons Lwt and twice the price. Is true flight worth that much?
Depends on the terrain and expected mission, I think.
The question is how much tactical, VTOL flight is worth in a suit? As much as 50% more armor? As much as doubling RoF and ammo?
I'd be inclined to say "some, but not as much as more survivability and shooty", for the standard issue suit. Flying is a fairly unstealthy thing to do, and a suit isn't going to be optimised for it if it's a primarily ground-based armoured and powered suit, so it seems to me that it's a good way to become a target. Leave it to the drones and fly-boys.
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