I think the biggest advantage is not having to have a fixed launch site. Like you, I wonder if the aero advantage is enough to justify the added complexity.

You don’t skip it, because you still have to achieve the required velocity. You make it easier.

You still have to achieve the required velocity, which is where most of the fuel is going to go. A conventional rocket lifts to 35k feet relatively quickly. The savings due to less air resistance are real, but they aren’t game changing.

They aren’t. Their delta V requirements are virtually unchanged by the plane.

There are some fuel advantages, but I think they are relatively minor. I'm not sure there is a safety advantage, as you now have to worry about all the things that could go wrong with a plane. If this concept was to ever be used for crewed launches how would the abort system work?

Not really. On the Saturn 5, the first stage accelerated to a touch over 6,000 mph. I don't know the exact speed of this craft but 600 mph is a reasonable guess. They aren't deleting the stage, they are having to lift it up on a plane.

“. In this way the rocket will not need the expensive and fuel laden stages to get its cargo into orbit (below). This plane intends to serve the same purpose as SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rockets, but ostensibly to more efficient ends.”

Hey, those contractor weren't assisting criminals, they were working for the lawful government when they got blown up by a bunch of terrorists

Had no experience with sequentials until I got into motorcycles. Took a little while to get used to, but after 6 months I was a convert

Thats due to the dogs and the type of clutch. Sequentials just use a drum instead of an H lever to move the shift forks. The rest of the transmission can be like any other manual

Ive only ever broken 1 gear in 20 plus years of driving, it was fifth.

You could build a sequential with helical gears and synchros, It’s basically an ordinary manual transmission with a cam barrel moving the shift forks.

Sequentials (which every motorcycle has) do just fine at low speeds.

Sequentials are amazing. More cars should have them.

Why not apply the credit to cars bellow a certain price tag (say 30k-50k). I agree that we shouldn’t be subsidizing luxury cars.

Eh, not so much. People run into 2 problems learning, stalling and dumping the clutch with too much gas, which could lead to a disaster.

While I agree that the record bike will likely look very different, it's worth remembering that supersports are limited to 187mph by a sort of gentlemen's agreement. They've stuck to that limit for sometime, despite power gains. I imagine it's possible for a supersports to go faster with existing aero and power levels.

Not really. If inefficient manufacturers pay ev manufacturers, ev manufacturers become more competitive, can sell their cars cheaper, and so sell more efficient cars.

“So, why would the pull strap or button or whatnot for the ejector seat just launch one seat and not the other?”

My work connects me to the stamping industry. Whether to you get a complex part out of a tool, or a mangled torn piece of metal depends, to a very large degree, on the lubricant being used. There is a lot of science that goes into making good lubricants, with many companies competing to make the best lubricating,…