Lift on Duna for Suborbital Flight?

[Wcmille]

I'd like to build an "airstrip" on Duna that refuels rocket-powered aircraft for reusable, sub-orbital flight.

 

Does the terrain support this?

Can enough lift be gained from wings to make (closed cycle) aircraft a better option than ordinary wingless vertical rockets?

Math especially appreciated in any response, especially if there is a critical point.

 

[bewing]

AeroGav and I collaborated on some SSTO spaceplane construction. He got enough deltaV out of his version to theoretically fly it from the KSC runway to Duna -- so for proof, he did this:

 

So your basic answers are: yes the terrain supports it, but notice that he completely overshot his intended landing point by many kilometers. But that's OK, because it's easy to taxi a plane for many kms once landed on its wheels.

Yes enough lift can come from wings, if you have a hell of a lot of wing area, and your plane is fairly light (but this SSTO has a couple nuke engines, a whiplash, and a lot of empty fuel tanks, so "light" is a relative concept) -- and if you notice he has RCS on and is using at least one Vernor under the nose to maintain his attitude. Notice just how low his landing speed really is at the end, too.

Instead of doing pure horizontal landings, I tend to come in much faster and pitch up into a vertical climb -- then select "radial hold" SAS, stall, and come down vertically, landing on my nuke engine bells. Then I can use reaction wheels to rotate the craft forward onto its wheels. You can always take off up a smooth hillside.

 

Edited June 6, 2016 by bewing