Ok, this is bugging me more and more. For the new Top Gun Maverick downloadable content, if you download it, you get the Darkstar, which is a top secret plane, that can reach Mach 9. When you fly the mission for the Darkstar in MSFS, at one point, you are required to invert the plane.

I can't for the life of me, figure out why the Darkstar needs to be inverted.  Did the SR 71 require inversion as well, in order to reach its top speed?  What is the scientific reason, that the Darkstar needs to be inverted? I'm sure it's related to physics, but I can't really figure out why inverting it is necessary, in order to reach the top speed of Mach 9.

PS. I don't think the inversion for the Darkstar has anything to do with the original Top Gun movie where Tom Cruise inverts his plane.

Edited May 25, 20224 yr by abrams_tank

10 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

I can't for the life of me, figure out why the Darkstar needs to be inverted.  Did the SR 71 require inversion as well, in order to reach its top speed? 

Maybe because it also requires to push down 20 deg to gain speed, so it's supposed to be flown inverted to not suffer from negative Gs.

I wonder if it's related to high speed at high altitude, to mimic LEO spacecraft like the space shuttle orbiter, which was inverted in orbit at times and during initial re-entry. Not that that would make sense for a hypersonic jet that's not in LEO. Just a thought.

Edited May 25, 20224 yr by hatchna

3 minutes ago, virtuali said:

Maybe because it also requires to push down 20 deg to gain speed, so it's supposed to be flown inverted to not suffer from negative Gs.

Hmm, after the inversion, you then have to invert it again to right side up, to reach Mach 9.  So Mach 9 is reached with the plane flying normal (non-inverted). 

4 minutes ago, hatchna said:

I wonder if it's related to high speed at high altitude, to mimic LEO spacecraft like the space shuttle orbiter, which was inverted in orbit. Not that that would make sense for a hypersonic jet that's not in LEO. Just a thought.

My understanding is that the SR 71 doesn't require an inversion, does it?  So my head is scratching why the Darkstar requires inversion, but the SR 71 doesn't.

5 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

My understanding is that the SR 71 doesn't require an inversion, does it?  So my head is scratching why the Darkstar requires inversion, but the SR 71 doesn't.

It is flying three times faster than an SR-71 though.  Different dynamics at play.

8 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

My understanding is that the SR 71 doesn't require an inversion, does it?  So my head is scratching why the Darkstar requires inversion, but the SR 71 doesn't.

No, the SR-71 did not, but it only flew up to altitudes of 85000 ft (confirmed) at mach 3ish, give or take. Supposedly this Darkstar goes up to 150,000 ft at mach 9-10. Maybe the higher speeds and altitude envelope play a factor. Again, just spitballing. Likely, it's just to give the player something to do up at altitude when going hypersonic.

Edited May 25, 20224 yr by hatchna

Jorg said in Q&A that they talked to people at an unnamed company (they weren't allowed to say) about the aerodynamics of a high altitude hypersonic aircraft when working on it. So it could be a real or hypothetical maneuver.

Edited May 25, 20224 yr by Tuskin38

It's to reduce negative Gs during the Scramjet portion of the flight. This is the part when you pitch down at 20degree to gain speed. Doing this inverted reduce Negative Gs

Edited May 25, 20224 yr by fogboundturtle

1 minute ago, fogboundturtle said:

It's to reduce negative Gs during the Scramjet portion of the flight. This is the part when you pitch down at 20degree to gain speed. Doing this inverted reduce Negative Gs

Thanks, I need to replay that part of the mission.  I can’t remember when I turned on the scramjet control, but if it was during the inverted part of the flight, it makes sense then, that the inversion reduces negative Gs when you turn on the scramjet control.

It’s all about looking cool 😎

I’ve not downloaded it, but it’s not in reference to one of Top Gun’s classic moments is it?

Edit: I see you’ve dismissed that theory!

Edited May 25, 20224 yr by 2reds2whites

Love the explanations, dont forget its a fantasy aircraft Fellas :)

21 minutes ago, Sceadu said:

Love the explanations, dont forget its a fantasy aircraft Fellas 🙂

While this is a fantasy aircraft, Skunk Works from Lockheed Martin, the same team that developed the SR 71, had input on creating this Darkstar: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/skunk-works-helped-create-the-darkstar-jet-for-top-gun-maverick

So I think at least for the larger details, the physics and design of this, probably have merit. Of course when it comes down to the smaller details, it’s not fleshed out yet (if the smaller details were fleshed out, the Darkstar would be real).

Edited May 25, 20224 yr by abrams_tank

Tom Cruise seems to have a centre tooth in that video picture.  I can't unsee it now!