comments:
For those not familiar with the story, I will condense this version from a number of books and articles I have read on the topic: Gary Hudson formed a series of companies that were dedicated to designing single-stage-to-orbit vehicles, as well as other low-cost options. All of these companies failed to bend metal on the SSTO designs, and were limited to work putting together various bits and pieces of other designs for commercial launch. These generally failed, most of the time explosively. While working at at one of these companies, Pacific American IIRC, Bevin McKinney came to him with idea of a new way to build a rocket engine. Instead of using turbo pumps, they would spin the entire engine and use the centrifugal force to pump the fuel. The initial concept was something like a large disk on a bearing plate. The efficiency of the system depended on the diameter, and it only "beat" conventional designs at sizes that would not fit under any reasonably sized fuselage, and the idea of putting the engines on long arms was considered. This led to the concept of turning the arms into airfoils which would also provide lift during the climb. This idea seemed so powerful that Hudson formed a new company to build it. However, it was quickly pointed out the concept simply did not work. Using simulations to optimize the design, it was noted that the optimum length of the helicopter blades was zero. This was unfortunate for the company, given that their entire sales pitch was based on the rotary bit, and that included their name, and so there was an evolution into a new design where the helicopter blades were simply a landing system. The rotary engine remained part of the design, at the beginning anyway. Bankrolling all of this was Walt Anderson. They used the money to rent a massive facility in Mohave, way bigger than they needed, and began to staff up with what the various authors have described as a collection of people with rather questionable capabilities. For instance, the chief aerodynamics was a recent graduate from SA who questioned his own suitability for the role. The engine was now envisioned as a spinning aerospike design, aerospikes being all the rage again at the time. Now in order for a rocket to land, the rocket has to take off. And to do that, this design used an entirely new engine that had no analog from which to base their predictions. Any logical design effort would start with an engine design and testing program, because if that didn't work, the design is done. So that's exactly the opposite of what they did. Instead they continued to pitch the idea of an all-up design with literally every piece new and untested - the rotary engine, rotary landing system and composite airframe were all completely untested. The project went largely as you might imagine. They burned through their money, including additional injections from Tom Clancy, and had nothing remotely like a rocket to show for it. So, looking for additional funding, they put together the world's worst helicopter and published grand statements about how this demonstrated the future of rocketry. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that had they tried to push the program further it would have ended in death. When I was reading these accounts, I was struck by the parallels between Hudson and another designer, Jim Bede. Bede introduced a series of designs that were unworkable but was able to use his own personal salesmanship to convince the GA market that his designs were the bomb and everyone else was dumb. Although the BD-4 was a qualified success, the rest of his designs were generally deathtraps. Among these was the BD-5 which generated enormous interest in the aviation field before demonstrating it could not meet any of its grandiose performance claims (ie, 210 mph and >20 mpg on a VW super-beetle engine) and killing many of its pilots. Despite this cautionary tale, he then went on to design the BD-10, which he claimed would have cross-country range and supersonic performance, but instead killed every single person that tried to fly it. Years later he was still pitching new designs and garnering all sorts of interest. It's completely fascinating.