Heya Larry,

Thanks for the insightful answers to my questions. I think I remember something similar to the refuelling situation you mentioned-- The SR-71 Blackbird IIRC was one of the more difficult planes to midair refuel (most of the pilots who wash out of the program were due to difficulties in performing that evolution) because the plane does not handle well at mid-subsonic speeds. The KC-135Q tankers would cruise at around 380 knots when loaded with JP-7 when the SR plugs in, which would be quite near the airspeed at which the Blackbird starts to develop a sink rate.

If the Blackhorse needs to refuel in midair, it means it cannot be powered by pure rocket engines, correct? If that's the case I would wonder if the powerplants would be any more compact than the comparable-size F-16's PW F100/GE F110. Guess that's why I was wondering even with a fuselage maximized for internal volume would it have enough to hold all the JP-5 *and* oxidizer. :-P

Also, for an airframe that size, the payload would probably have to be carried externally if all the external volume is used for fuel... I guess that's why I was wondering about drag too. Of course, there is probably lots of ways to get around these problems that I'm not aware of, hence my handle Neophyte.. :-)