Make a list of 20 cars from the same time period with a single exhaust, another for dual, and another for 4. Now average the performance of each group (you hp, or 0-60, or lap times at wherever). It wont be perfect, but you will absolutely see a trend.

Because they have to sell at a premium price to pay for their development and expansion. So they need to position themselves and a premium, luxury product.

Can you imagine if one could approximate the performance of an athlete by counting their anuses?

Horizontal sliding doors are boring. Vertical sliding doors have been done. Diagonal sliding doors are impractical. Call me when you make doors that slide into the 4th dimension.

Yes. But you have to use less efficient engines.

If by good chunk, you mean 4%, then yes. Otherwise, no.

They gained not having to carry a first stage engine. They still have to carry most of the first stage fuel. They can’t use as efficient of a fuel, so they have to carry more of it. And their rocket requires more bracing.

Lawful governments tend to be evil an oppressive to some portion of the population. Completely agreed on the part about the difference and history book.

Let me try one more time, hopefully with less snark.

At 1:59 it was going way faster than 600mph

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