Darkstar - performances and capabilities

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I’ve become such an enthusiast that I want to provide a lot more for the Darkstar than what is already out there. In this effort I’ve been building forum threads that people can search that provide a manual and missions to follow.

In order to provide realism, I’m going to congregate real world info on the YF-12 and SR-71 and their performances and capabilities into this thread where I can then translate them into my manual thread and into expectations in the mission threads.

This should provide sim users realistic challenges that will test their capabilities and precisions to the max.

GOALS

  1. Visual flight navigation. I want less “maps” and more visual navigation. The reason for this is it gives the pilot a more visual experience as they confirm their location based on landmarks and that rquires more interesting maneuvers.
  2. GPS/vector Navigation. There’s many challenges that can be approached to this but this is the standard way to navigate using waypoints.
  3. Peak performance. I need to test: fastest rate of climb, fastest entry to Mach 3.5, ability to maneuver and maintain Mach 3.5 without scramjet, ability to maintain Mach 3.5 with scramjet at elevations 70,000 - 90,000 feet, fastest descent rates, turns, etc.
  4. Endurance and efficiency. Best ability to use the least amount of fuel to achieve greatest endurance.

RESULTS

  1. Results will go here and be categorized.

SOURCES

  1. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dvXcUJA-QvQ
  • 26 seconds for Russian SA-300 to hit SR-71 in video from transited distance 45km and translation of 17km. Some conclusions are that he should have begun to turn into the launch site and lose enough speed to significantly drop altitude, causing the missile to have to recalculate intercept. Then to roll opposite and pull up and out max-thrust? Ideas for maneuver.
  • Tactic mentioned at 17:10 is to “run out the missile’s computation” by giving it absurd parameters such as nose up and climbing above its ceiling even though you are already near your own ceiling.
  1. Lockheed YF-12 - Wikipedia
  2. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/tj9UwKQKE3A
  3. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/N6c3Y_AtXco
  4. The Russia - NATO A2AD Environment | Missile Threat
  5. “https://authors.library.caltech.edu/105515/14/AE107%20SR-71%20Case%20Study%20121-320.pdf”

COMMENTS
The SR-72 Darkstar is a much more capable aircraft in sim than the YF-12 was. Therefore it should give some interesting maneuvers to perform to simulate evading S-400s and newer SA sites. These maneuvers will someday be detailed and hopefully recorded on video I can upload to YouTube when I get a chance to work them out and perform them.

The idea is to standardized impressive maneuvers that really stress the aircraft and pilot to the limit. Both can result in the game exiting to “airplane destroyed/you have died” screens. Very impressive. I will document how I best achieved the performance and share it in subsequent advice threads that detail the maneuvers in the sim.

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