Fixed-wing Aircraft on Pandora

[exostrike]

While digging around this site I've noticed a habit for the pro-human posters to claim that RDA would have one the battle if they've had air support. No one's talked about the viability of fixed wing aircraft on Pandora, so let's have a discussion now.

There are a number of problems I have with using aircraft on Pandora. Firstly, would a wing be able to withstand the pressures in operating in Pandoran air? Higher air resistance would completely change the wing's aerodynamics. I'm no expert on the subject but I suspect that such conditions would damage the structure of the wing with the strain.

Secondly many people here are talking about jet aircraft, but would jet engines be able to operate in Pandoran conditions without burning out as that denser air is compacted and ignited (or even burn at all considering Pandora air anti-fire properties).


Well I've set the ball rolling, discuss.

[Sanjwale]

Secondly many people here are talking about jet aircraft, but would jet engines be able to operate in Pandoran conditions without burning out as that denser air is compacted and ignited (or even burn at all considering Pandora air anti-fire properties).

sorry for my being "noobish" what you are meaning there is that the jet engines should run because of the air? but how can the AMP suits working. or the chopper engines working?

[tm20]

jet engines work by forcing air into them and that mixes with fuel, ignites and that provides thrust wheres as choppers just use the air to propel them upwards/forwards/sideways (it's easier as the air is more dense). the aircraft we see do use jet engines and they opreate just fine so i assume they've been tuned to work with the air density and composition of Pandora, im no expert so anyone who is do explain more.

[Foxhound]

I Think that Fixed wing aircraft would be pointless. Most of the battles would not be fought like a battle on earth. It would be hard to set a designated target due to canopy and the fact that the hostiles rarely have any form of fixed positions. In the final battle the floating mountains would make high speeds worthless as well as the flux making high speed or altitude bombing too dangerous to attempt. One reason that choppers are not used even more on earth is due to limited range and the fact that they can be shot down with hand held AA.
On Pandora the RDA choppers have what seems like unlimited fuel and the Na-vi have no AA missiles meaning that choppers can stay in there area and not be limited by strafing and be able to continue to support the troops on the ground.
In sort there would be no need to have long range expensive strike craft.

[Tsyal Makto]

The air is only 20% denser, I doubt it would be that difficult to modify the wing cross-section and fuel-air mixture to reach peak efficiency.

[Aihwa]

I Think that Fixed wing aircraft would be pointless. Most of the battles would not be fought like a battle on earth. It would be hard to set a designated target due to canopy and the fact that the hostiles rarely have any form of fixed positions. In the final battle the floating mountains would make high speeds worthless as well as the flux making high speed or altitude bombing too dangerous to attempt. One reason that choppers are not used even more on earth is due to limited range and the fact that they can be shot down with hand held AA.
On Pandora the RDA choppers have what seems like unlimited fuel and the Na-vi have no AA missiles meaning that choppers can stay in there area and not be limited by strafing and be able to continue to support the troops on the ground.
In sort there would be no need to have long range expensive strike craft.

When in doubt, napalm.

Also, that nonsense with the jury rigged Valkyrie would have been avoided. Fixed wing aircraft, precision bomb.

[Ximphron]

The biggest disadvantage for the RDA was that their targeting systems were seriously messed up. If it wasn't for that they could probably have taken out the Na'vi sitting inside Hell's Gate using missiles and UAVs.

[exostrike]

Okay I admit that I didn't phrase that very well.

I suspect that a jet engine would have problems operating in pandora. The turboshaft and turbine engines of RDA's helicopters would suck in the denser pandoran air at low speeds (and so lower density) than the higher speeds needed to substain jet flight (which would probably be a more complex turboshaft engine ). The denser air would ware down the internal mechanisms of the engine faster than on earth, meaning more maintenance and spare parts (something on a return mission to pandora would be in short supply) reducing the advantage of using jet aircraft on pandora.

Also the denser air would be more likely to cause shockwaves as the air is forced to the speed of sound (denser materials lowers the speed of sound, so lowering the threshold of these miniture sonic booms) which would damage the engine. What I'm saying is that operating a high speed jet engine on pandora would be difficult.

On a side note, if you where able to modify an aircraft and its engines to operate on pandora at supersonic conditions, its sonic boom may actually be its best weapon against attack, shattering na'vi and banshee airdrums simply by passing.

[exostrike]

I Think that Fixed wing aircraft would be pointless. Most of the battles would not be fought like a battle on earth. It would be hard to set a designated target due to canopy and the fact that the hostiles rarely have any form of fixed positions. In the final battle the floating mountains would make high speeds worthless as well as the flux making high speed or altitude bombing too dangerous to attempt. One reason that choppers are not used even more on earth is due to limited range and the fact that they can be shot down with hand held AA.
On Pandora the RDA choppers have what seems like unlimited fuel and the Na-vi have no AA missiles meaning that choppers can stay in there area and not be limited by strafing and be able to continue to support the troops on the ground.
In sort there would be no need to have long range expensive strike craft.

Very true. I started this thread so we could discuss these probelms and try and debunk the bomber argument. The only reason you might want an aircraft on pandora is for survey and meteorological work both of which could be done from orbit or by weather ballons.

[Foxhound]

Also i would like to point out that the RDA was a security force not a real army. They had no need of precision bombers or cruise missiles before the Hometree attack. After all which would be more useful, A one use cruise missile, or a many use helicopter that will almost never mess up and can support ground forces for more time then a several second boom.

Also By the time the RDA realized the massive army Jake was assembling they didn't have time to build precision munitions or advanced fighters. They only had time to hastily through up some battle plans and rig some explosives before the army got to large to defeat and they were swarmed either at Hell's gate or in the mountains.
The tactic almost worked. If the Hydra gunner on top of the shuttle had turned just two seconds quicker and shot Sully, the Shuttle would have dropped its bombs on the target then beat a hasty retreat.
If Eywa had not sent in thousands of Swarm reinforcements, that showed up faster then they could be killed, the shuttle would have dropped its payload on target. The RDA could not have expected the planet to send reinforcements so it was an unforeseeable variable.
If the mountains had not been there and the Shuttle had been able to fly at faster speeds then the Bomb would have landed on its target.
In war you are almost never given a perfect situation but must instead work with what you have. Not what you wish you had.