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They build stuff out of basic aluminium shells, sometimes machine some smaller parts. Welding included. They order parts from don't remember who, I think spin forming is quite common for spherical tank halves.

You always have to carry something extra if you don't want to leave a smoking hole in the ground. All landing forms have their advantages and disadvantages. The fuel is light compared to most.

Old-fashioned parachutes are unsteerable and you're at the mercy of winds (even if you could launch in high winds, you're now limited by landing area winds, less flights, less revenue) and still have a high vertical ground hitting speed for example. Soyuz still needs to use rockets for the final softening. Parawings are somewhat better but then you're into more complicated territory. Also they need to be collected and repacked, you have to separate them at landing so you don't tip over. And you might need reserve chutes. etc etc...

Ordinary runway landing gear is complex, and you need that runway. And wings. All that is heavy and requires more complex aerodynamics than a symmetrical rocket. Design something that has low drag at supersonic airspeeds and is stable at all airspeeds and still has a low landing speed. For someone like Rutan who is already in the airplane business, it might make more sense than someone like Armadillo.

The key idea is to have very little work between flights. Ideally you'd reach the point where you refuel and fly again.

<blockquote data-quote="mz" data-source="post: 120150" data-attributes="member: 647">They build stuff out of basic aluminium shells, sometimes machine some smaller parts. Welding included. They order parts from don't remember who, I think spin forming is quite common for spherical tank halves.You always have to carry something extra if you don't want to leave a smoking hole in the ground. All landing forms have their advantages and disadvantages. The fuel is light compared to most.Old-fashioned parachutes are unsteerable and you're at the mercy of winds (even if you could launch in high winds, you're now limited by landing area winds, less flights, less revenue) and still have a high vertical ground hitting speed for example. Soyuz still needs to use rockets for the final softening. Parawings are somewhat better but then you're into more complicated territory. Also they need to be collected and repacked, you have to separate them at landing so you don't tip over. And you might need reserve chutes. etc etc...Ordinary runway landing gear is complex, and you need that runway. And wings. All that is heavy and requires more complex aerodynamics than a symmetrical rocket. Design something that has low drag at supersonic airspeeds and is stable at all airspeeds and still has a low landing speed. For someone like Rutan who is already in the airplane business, it might make more sense than someone like Armadillo.The key idea is to have very little work between flights. Ideally you'd reach the point where you refuel and fly again.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="mz, post: 120150, member: 647"] They build stuff out of basic aluminium shells, sometimes machine some smaller parts. Welding included. They order parts from don't remember who, I think spin forming is quite common for spherical tank halves. You always have to carry something extra if you don't want to leave a smoking hole in the ground. All landing forms have their advantages and disadvantages. The fuel is light compared to most. Old-fashioned parachutes are unsteerable and you're at the mercy of winds (even if you could launch in high winds, you're now limited by landing area winds, less flights, less revenue) and still have a high vertical ground hitting speed for example. Soyuz still needs to use rockets for the final softening. Parawings are somewhat better but then you're into more complicated territory. Also they need to be collected and repacked, you have to separate them at landing so you don't tip over. And you might need reserve chutes. etc etc... Ordinary runway landing gear is complex, and you need that runway. And wings. All that is heavy and requires more complex aerodynamics than a symmetrical rocket. Design something that has low drag at supersonic airspeeds and is stable at all airspeeds and still has a low landing speed. For someone like Rutan who is already in the airplane business, it might make more sense than someone like Armadillo. The key idea is to have very little work between flights. Ideally you'd reach the point where you refuel and fly again. [/QUOTE]

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