So today...

[thought1]

...I designed a workable flying saucer, using well-understood, existing tech. The only problem: It'd probably cost $50k to prototype, and then probably $5 mil to get approved by the FAA (if I actually wanted to market them).

Comments

Wow.

[johnwesley73]

Just curious, what sort of fuel would it use? Regular spacecraft-type fuel?

Re: Wow.

[thought1]

It would use standard bio-diesel in a series of small fuel cells, an array of solar panels embedded in the top, and a turbulence reclamation system between the top and bottom discs (to counter and re-use the non-productive and counter-productive portions of the turbulence). Very efficient and cheap to operate. (:

Essentially, the whole thing is a huge dual-counter-turbofan (if I can coin that), with the pilot, passengers, and cargo sitting in the middle.

The down side, of course, is that it can't leave the atmosphere, nor go too high up (it'd probably have an upper limit of 60k). Still, a very nice planet-side vehicle.