Comments on: Iron man in flight

By: Phyreblade

Phyreblade — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:29:22 +0000

@Kaze
Actually a chopper is a perfectly good flying machine. There is no physical reason why a chopper should not be able to fly.

But notwithstanding that, comparing Ironman with a chopper is comparing apples and oranges. They fly using completely different principles.

It would be more accurate to compare the Ironman suit to an F-117, which is the ultimate example of a brick that would be impossible to fly without the computer doing the fine management of all the control surfaces…

So I guess Tiki has a point about the computer managed control surfaces… And I think Tiki is also right about the reactors, I believe only the chest piece houses a reactor. All of the others are “stabilizers” LOL for lack of a better word…

I still contend that the suit is a flying brick…

By: tiki god

tiki god — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:27:53 +0000

just the chest one is a reaction afaik. the rest are lol “stabilizers” that can kill

By: Kaze

Kaze — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:52:47 +0000

Think of it more along the physics of a helicopter. By all accounts, a helicopter CAN NOT fly. It simply doesn’t work. The only thing it manages to accomplish is that it is somehow capable of beating the air into submission.

On a side note, since one of you might actually know, the lights on his hands, and feet, are those additional reactors as well, or is there solely the chest reactor that powers them all?

By: tiki god

tiki god — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:31:48 +0000

@Phyreblade

from what I remember, he’s got all sorts of surfaces along the armor that can move around for aerodynamics. Couple that with the onboard computers (one of the only ways that the super hornet stays aloft) and I’d say he’s perfectly fine.

By: elzarcothepale

elzarcothepale — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:11:53 +0000

only one superman movie has rivaled a batman movie. pick the worst batman, and the newest superman. think about that for a second while you compare them. No amount of gene hackman as lex luthor can beat even the stupidest of batman flicks. Superman Returns beats the worst batman only by Kevin Spacey’s graces

By: Mayyday

Mayyday — Thu, 15 May 2008 06:32:11 +0000

Of course he could; he doesn’t have wheels.

By: LordOpie

LordOpie — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:01:16 +0000

Could he take off if he was on a treadmill?

By: Bran

Bran — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:33:36 +0000

I wonder if he can listen to mp3′s in his helmet because I’d assume that the noise coming from outside must be unbearable while traveling at supersonic speed. If he did, I bet he’d be listening to his own theme song. lol?

By: Phyreblade

Phyreblade — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:09:21 +0000

Good points, I’m not arguing he shouldn’t be capable of sustained flight. In fact, with the kind of power he has on tap, being able to fly is, by itself, an almost trivial task.

However the problem is that poor aerodynamic design makes for an incredible waste of power due to aerodynamic drag, especially at supersonic speeds.

And more importantly, any level of fine in-flight control should theoretically become near impossible to achieve at high speeds with a design like this, even with secondary vectored stabilizing thrusters…

By: Mayyday

Mayyday — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:58:48 +0000

Given enough thrust, damn-near anything is capable of ballistic flight.