The Safety Features of BtBC

My approach to engineering is simple: It is better to design a system that avoids the emergency situation in the first place than a system that tries to handle it after it occurs. In traditional aviation, safety is additive—adding complex sensors, fire suppression, and heavy redundancies to manage a failure. Blade the Ballistic Cruiser (BtBC) has a subtractive safety system. By removing the components that cause the most common emergencies, such as turbofan engines, fuel-filled wings, and fragile landing gear, I prevent the problem so that I don’t need to solve it afterward. I replace complexity with physics.

Even though using cryogenic fuel and oxidizer on board looks like a big safety problem, they pose no risk to the passengers. Moreover, they enhance the emergency capabilities of the plane. The phase change of these liquids creates an immense volume change. This is utilized in case of emergency to keep the aircraft airborne. The excess pressure inside the oxygen tank is released from the back of the plane to generate additional horizontal thrust. In case of engine failure, it would give the pilot additional time to land the plane safely. Additionally, the methane would be released downward close to landing to reduce the touchdown impact. Lighter-than-air methane would create a cushion effect under the plane and allow for a soft touchdown. Because methane is lighter than air, it would evaporate and leave no residue behind. More importantly, the tanks would not explode uncontrollably. They would have structural fuses on the bottom of the tank facing away from the passengers. If the pressure relief valves are overwhelmed, cryogenic liquid and debris are vectored downward into the atmosphere, while the passenger cabin remains a protected, uncompromised zone.

The lack of turbofan engines behind the wings allows for a much safer landing. The most dangerous potential fire source of a plane is removed in my design. High-speed rotating parts in traditional engines can create shrapnel that would pierce the cabin and cause fatalities. Cleaning the wing negates such problems.

The clean fuselage, wings, and belly of the plane, coupled with the empty fuel tanks, would provide better buoyancy for water ditching than a traditional aircraft. The fuel tanks also protect the cabin from the impact of landing by acting as a crumple zone.

The most important feature of BtBC is its simplicity and its clean fuselage. The unified engines are arranged with a considerable amount of redundancy. If the horizontal thrust engines fail, the independent VTOL engines would still function and land the plane vertically. More importantly, they are simple and operate with clean fuels: LNG and LOX. There would be no impurities such as those seen in air-breathing engines. The probability of failure is significantly lower than that of complex turbofans. Additionally, the thrust of the engine is established by the fuel and oxidizer on board. Therefore, poor air quality (lack of oxygen) poses no problem to flight safety; it only reduces the flight economy.

Finally, turbofans are susceptible to failure from particles in the air, especially birds. The only opening of the BtBC is the duct engine area. It is just a hollow duct with high-temperature gases inside. A bird entering from the opening of the duct would come out as "fried chicken" from the end. The non-stick coating inside the duct, which prevents the walls from melting, also ensures that organic material does not stick to the walls of the duct.

The Triple Win of the VTOL Ecosystem

The transition to hypersonic ballistic flight isn’t just an engineering milestone; it’s a total economic realignment. By solving the Efficiency-Speed Paradox, a value chain that benefits every level of the system is created.

1. Benefits for the Individual:

A hypersonic VTOL, like the BtBC, converts a "lost day" into a morning commute. Door-to-door travel is reduced to just one hour for domestic flights. The city-center location of the VTOL Airport significantly reduces the time required to reach the terminal. Baggage is loaded into the plane directly in front of the passenger, eliminating the stress of losing a bag or having it damaged. Boarding is completed quickly due to the four boarding doors and a minimal walking path from the airport entrance to the aircraft. There is no time lost in runway queues; a VTOL plane is always number one for takeoff, which takes only seconds. Hypersonic skipping then reduces long distances to mere minutes. This same efficient and fast process repeats upon arrival. Reclaiming undamaged baggage and taking a short cab ride to the final destination brings the total travel time to less than an hour for domestic flights. These advantages are maintained for longer distances as well, thanks to hypersonic speeds. All these benefits are available to the traveler for a typical economy ticket price due to the overall efficiency of the process.

2. Benefits for Society:

When a trip across the globe takes no longer than a morning commute, social fatigue is eliminated. You can live in one city and work in another without the physical toll of traditional travel. This increases the propensity to travel, boosting regional GDP through increased trade, tourism, and human connection. Additionally, society can reclaim the large areas occupied by traditional airports for use as housing or green spaces.

3. Benefits for Investors:

Traditional planes sit on the ground for hours, but the BtBC focuses on a 15-minute turnaround. Because the BtBC is so fast and the VTOL Airport is so efficient, one aircraft can perform four times more missions per day than a conventional jet. This high “Asset Velocity” spreads the cost of the airframe over more passengers, making hypersonic travel more affordable than today’s economy class. Replacing massive, multi-kilometer runways with compact, vertical city-center pads saves billions in real estate and maintenance costs. The vertical nature of the VTOL Airport allows for a much higher “revenue per square meter.” With automated robotic cargo bay swaps and multi-level boarding, the airport handles more passengers per hour with a fraction of the traditional overhead and maintenance costs of a massive airfield.

VTOL Airport

A hypersonic flight makes no sense if the traveler spends two hours in ground transit and security. The VTOL Airport is designed as a high-throughput, 3-floor vertical terminal that can be placed directly in city centers due to its minimal footprint. The BtBC, which I proposed earlier, is capable of this due to its specially designed tandem wings and silent ducted rocket engines; coupled with very high-altitude flight, it produces almost no sonic boom on the ground. This allows for a hypersonic VTOL airport in the city center.

The design of the BtBC further enables such an airport by featuring a removable cargo bay in its aft section. Once landed, the BtBC stays very close to the ground. Robotic ramps rise from the floor below and align with the exit doors of the plane. This allows for four simultaneous access points to the aircraft, reducing boarding and de-boarding times. Utilizing ramps may take up more space but negates the need for elevators for accessible boarding. Meanwhile, a robotic elevator forklift removes the cargo bay from the plane and lowers it to the baggage reclaim section. Once the cargo bay is placed on the arrivals floor, the robotic lift rises one floor and picks up the departing passenger cargo bay. Then, it rises to the launch pad and mounts the cargo bay to the departing plane. This setup requires standardized cargo bays so that a spare can be loaded and ready before the arrival bay is fully unloaded. This reduces cargo loading and unloading times dramatically. More importantly, passengers drop their baggage where they board the plane. This process ensures no baggage is lost or damaged. Arriving passengers go downstairs to the street level and reclaim their baggage immediately, allowing them to leave the airport without long waits or walks.

Once the arriving passengers clear the ramps and the interior of the plane is checked (which takes less time with four access doors), the departing passengers can board the plane where their baggage is already loaded. Once boarding is complete, the plane takes off vertically and clears the pad for the next aircraft. The entire process is optimized to minimize delays and reduce inefficiencies.

The launch pad is covered by a sound-deadening and wind-shielding mesh to reduce noise and the effect of wind during takeoff and landing. The underground level is used for parking and storing fuels and oxidizers, as well as maintenance equipment.

The vertical structure of the airport reduces its land requirement, further enabling a city-center airport.

Solving the Efficiency-Speed Paradox

In traditional aviation, going faster always means burning exponentially more fuel because you are fighting atmospheric drag. By using a high-amplitude skip, an aircraft can gain speed by leaving the thickest parts of the atmosphere, effectively "solving" the drag problem that plagues standard supersonic flight.

The removal of turbofan engines from below the wings allows for highly efficient wing designs with very high L/D ratios. To maximize lift and reduce the shockwave effect on the wings, I opted for a tandem design. This setup creates more even lift compared to traditional wings. The tandem wings come in pairs. The upper wing is placed slightly forward of the lower one to ensure positive stability. High-aspect-ratio biplane wings are supported by two vertical supports that double as vertical stabilizers. This reduces the drag induced by a large tail stabilizer while also lowering weight. Having two supports enables the wings to be thinner, which further reduces drag. The leading edges of the wings feature channels to circulate liquid methane. This cools the hottest parts of the wing during supersonic flight. Additionally, the heated methane autogenously pressurizes the methane tank. The nose of the plane also features temperature-controlled methane bleeders to cool the nose and the belly. This is not dead weight, as the methane is consumed to generate boost inside the ducted rocket engine.

Strong, thin tandem wings are well-suited for hypersonic flight and generate high lift even at extreme speeds and altitudes. Active cooling protects critical parts from overheating without adding dead weight. This setup enables fuel-efficient skipping, allowing for low-cost hypersonic flights.

The trajectory of atmospheric skipping is as follows: The plane climbs to its ideal skipping altitude. The thicker, oxygen-rich lower atmosphere reduces fuel consumption through the afterburner effect and air augmentation. Even as oxygen levels drop, the augmented air effect remains. Once the maximum altitude is reached, the main engine is throttled down to a minimum level (possible by turning off unused small engines). As a result, only a "pilot light" level of the engine remains operational. As the thrust level decreases, the plane begins gliding down with almost no fuel consumption. The minimal engine firing still generates some thrust due to pressurized augmented air from supersonic shockwaves. Once the gliding plane reaches oxygen-rich but relatively thin air (roughly 20–25 km), the plane fires its engine at full throttle, harvesting oxygen and augmented air for efficiency. The plane then climbs back to the skipping altitude. Depending on the distance, the plane performs one or more skips. The high lift-to-drag ratio allows it to glide longer distances with minimal fuel consumption. This results in more economical flights than subsonic travel, which wastes a considerable amount of thrust on drag. The ability to glide longer at higher altitudes reduces drag considerably and counterbalances the high fuel consumption of hypersonic flight.

Blade the Ballistic Cruiser

After careful study of my LNG VTOL plane, I saw that it was actually supersonic capable, thanks to its clean fuselage and rocket-based engine. Carrying LOX on board changes everything. Coupled with a new trajectory for flight, the result is an economical Ballistic Cruiser. I will explain each detail in a separate article. Blade the Ballistic Cruiser (BtBC), coupled with its specially designed VTOL Airport, turns travel into a form of urban transportation. I designed the whole system to reduce door-to-door time, not just the time spent in the air (which makes no sense if you waste more time on the ground just to fly).

My VTOL design and its ability to reach hypersonic speeds were made possible by the removal of turbofan engines—they are the CRT of aviation. The key was the use of LNG & LOX powered, low-pressure, low-profile, slit-exit, regenerative-cooled, Tesla valve integrated, 3D-printed unified rocket engines. However, on its own, it would be very fuel-inefficient. I added many features to the plane to make it economical and able to withstand hypersonic speeds; double or triple purposing components was the solution most of the time.

Economical Vertical Takeoff and Landing is made possible by dedicated VTOL engines. These unified engines are so compact and lightweight that it is more economical to dedicate engines for specific tasks instead of moving them around for different phases of flight. The doors covering the VTOL engines double as the landing legs. These doors open parallel to the nose of the plane and are covered by carbon fiber fabric to form a closed skirt. The top sections of these skirts are slightly open to allow ambient air intake. When the VTOL engines are fired, they form a low-pressure zone at the opening of the skirt, which pulls more air inside and improves fuel efficiency through an afterburner effect and augmented air. The plane clears the ground nose-up and the tandem wings start generating lift. At that time, the ducted rocket engine is fired, generating horizontal acceleration. The tandem bi-wings have low stall speeds, generating required lift very fast so that the VTOL engines can be shut down with minimal fuel consumption. Once the engines are shut down, the doors close and the belly of the plane becomes aerodynamically smooth.

Unlike planes with air-breathing engines, carrying LOX on board allows the BtBC to accelerate faster and reach higher altitudes and speeds. The duct covering its engine uses the air trapped and pressurized under the belly of the plane as high-bypass air. The fuel-rich burn of the rocket engine gets an additional boost from ambient oxygen to generate a free afterburner effect. Coupled with augmented air, the fuel efficiency of the plane is improved considerably compared to standard rocket engines. Having LOX on board allows the plane to fly at higher altitudes to reduce drag and reach higher speeds independent of ambient oxygen levels. Even at altitudes where oxygen levels are low, the augmented air effect remains.

Once the destination is reached, the plane circles the VTOL Airport and descends like a conventional plane. However, at the last minute, its VTOL engines kick in and the BtBC lands vertically on the pad.

The Iₛₚ Trap

NASA is still struggling with hydrogen leaks on the SLS rocket. They missed another launch. This is what happens when you follow a "number" instead of real-world physics.

The Iₛₚ Myth

In school, they teach that Specific Impulse (Iₛₚ) is everything. Hydrogen has a high Iₛₚ (~450s). Methane is lower (~380s). NASA stays with Hydrogen because of this one number.

But in the real world, Iₛₚ is a trap. Here is why:

Hydrogen is "Fluffy": It has almost no density. To get enough mass, you need giant tanks.

The "Dead Weight" Penalty: Because the tanks are huge, the rocket is heavy. Even when the fuel is 90% gone, the engine is still pushing a giant, empty metal balloon. This eats all the Iₛₚ gain!

The Leak Problem: Hydrogen is the smallest molecule. It finds every tiny hole. It makes metal weak (embrittlement).

The Methalox Solution

NASA should have switched to Methalox (Liquid Methane + Oxygen) decades ago. Methane is 6 times denser than Hydrogen. The tanks are small and strong. At the "finish line," a Methalox rocket is much faster because it isn't pushing a giant empty house.

No Excuses on Infrastructure

Some say it is too expensive to change the launch pads. This is not true. If a pipe can hold Liquid Hydrogen at -253°C, it can easily hold Liquid Methane at -161°C. Methane is "warmer" and easier to handle. Switching to Methane is a "downgrade" in difficulty.

Wasting Taxpayer Money

It is not just about the physics; it is about the people's taxes. Liquid Hydrogen is incredibly expensive. When you compare them in liquid form, the cost difference is huge. Liquid Methane is abundant and cheap. Liquid Hydrogen requires massive amounts of electricity to reach extreme cold. Why spend billions of tax dollars on an expensive setup that does not work properly? It is dangerous and hard to handle. Other than a "theoretical" Iₛₚ number, hydrogen has no advantage. It only has "show-stopper" disadvantages. NASA is stuck with "Academic Blinders." We are in the age of robotics, yet we risk lives on a "leaky hydrogen bomb" just because leaders won't admit they are wrong. The periodic table is simple. Real-world physics matters more than a textbook number.

Technical Appendix: The Aspiration Injection Model

For the Slurry Carbon propulsion system, I propose a Mix-on-Demand injection architecture rather than pre-mixed storage. This solves the challenge of nanoparticle sedimentation during long-duration deep-space coasting.

The Venturi Canal: The Liquid Oxygen (LOX) is stored in a primary header tank, pressurized via solar-thermal boiling. During operation, LOX is channeled through a specialized "Mixing Canal."

Carbon Aspiration: A dry hopper containing the carbon nanoparticles is connected to this canal via a precision-machined thin slot. As the LOX flows through the Venturi narrowing, the resulting pressure drop (Bernoulli’s Principle) naturally "aspirates" or sucks the carbon into the stream.

Passive Fluidization: To ensure the nanoparticles do not clump in the extreme cold, the hopper utilizes a low-power piezoelectric vibrator. This maintains the powder in a fluid-like state, ensuring a consistent mixture ratio without complex mechanical augers.

External Combustion Advantage: Because the ignition and combustion occur externally, the mixing process only needs to be "sufficiently turbulent" to sustain the burn. The complexity of internal combustion stability is avoided, making the system significantly more reliable and fail-safe than traditional bi-propellant engines.