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Old 15-November-2005, 05:46 AM
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SirThoreth SirThoreth is offline
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Default Atmospheric Craft on Titan and Mars?

Given the differences in both gravity and atmospheric density, what kind of airframe would be most advantageous, do you think, for Mars or Titan? Balloons or other lighter-than-air craft are an obvious solution, but I'm thinking more in terms of fixed-wing aircraft right now.

For Mars, I'm thinking something with very low wing loading, and probably a very wide wingspan - something like the U-2/TR-1, or Voyager, to try to get as much lift as possible out of the thin atmosphere.

What about Titan, though? It's low gravity, but has a very dense atmosphere. Would we mainly be looking at short wingspans, high wing-loading and minimal frontal surface area, to cut down on drag?
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