Can Star Wars' X-Wing Starfighter fly on our planet?

Anything with the right thrust can fly in space in zero gravity, even a brick.

However, the flight of an object in the atmosphere surrounding the planet Earth is more difficult than the flight of a spacecraft travelling in space within the gravitational fields of influence; more precisely, while the spacecraft flies according to Newton's law of motion, the platforms we call aircraft flying in the atmosphere of the planet Earth fly according to both the laws of aerodynamics and Newton's law of motion.

How do spacecraft fly (travel)?

The basic physical law that enables spacecraft to travel in space is Newton's "law of motion", known by the expression "for every action there is a reaction". Substances ejected from the rocket as a result of a chemical reaction push the spacecraft in the direction opposite to their own direction of motion. This allows them to travel.

So how will the spacecraft move in space according to the law of motion? According to Newton's law, you need an equal and opposite reaction to move, but there is nothing to push in the vacuum of space.

The spacecraft moves in space using propulsion systems. Newton's Third Law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. There is no air or other matter in space to be pushed, so the spacecraft must carry its own source of thrust. There are several different propulsion systems that spacecraft can use, including chemical propulsion (the reaction of chemicals is used to create thrust) and electric propulsion (electricity is used to ionise a gas, creating a plasma that can be expelled to produce thrust).

However, in Star Wars, George Lucas' legendary film series about events in a galaxy far, far away, we see spacecraft flying both like spacecraft in space and like aircraft on planets with atmospheres similar to Earth's. 

How do aeroplanes fly?

It is the pressure difference that allows aeroplanes to rise in the air. The forward movement of aeroplanes is according to the norms of the "law of motion" as in spacecraft. As the aircraft moves forward, the wings compress the air below them and dilute the air above them. This causes a pressure difference between the top and bottom of the aeroplane. Thus, a net upward force begins to act on the aircraft and the aircraft rises.

The wings of aeroplanes are designed in the form of a special wing structure called "airfoil" to create a carrying force. When the air comes into contact with the wing, it is divided into two parts to pass through the upper and lower parts of the wing. Due to the design of the wing, the air has a long distance to travel at the top of the wing, so its speed increases here because it must reach the end of the wing at the same time as the air at the bottom. Since the speed of the air in the upper part increases, the pressure decreases here. Due to the criterion that air always flows from high pressure to low pressure, a carrying force is formed on the wings.

The wings lift the aeroplane in the air and the engines propel it forwards.

What is air?

Air is a physical substance with weight. It has molecules that are in constant motion. Air pressure is created by moving molecules. Moving air has the force to lift kites and balloons up and down. Air is a mixture of different gases; oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Everything that flies needs air. Air has the power to push and pull birds, balloons, kites and aeroplanes.

Wing Profile.

Classic Jet Engine.

Propulsion System

Jet engines provide the thrust required for aeroplanes. These engines can be turbofan, turbojet, turboprop type. The air entering the engine from the atmosphere is compressed by the compressor and its temperature and pressure are increased. Then this air enters the combustion chamber and combustion takes place by spraying fuel into the pressurised air. As a result of combustion, the air that heats up and suddenly expands rapidly leaves the combustion chamber and rotates the turbine. The energy obtained by the rotation of the turbine is transferred to the compressor and its rotation is ensured. Afterwards, the hot gas from the turbine enters the exhaust pipe and exits out of the nozzle, allowing the aircraft to move forward. This thrust is explained according to Newton's third law. According to this law, every action produces a reaction of equal magnitude and in the opposite direction.

Are there any vehicles on Earth that can fly both in space and in the atmosphere?

The clear answer to this question is "no", but we can define the Space Shuttle as a spacecraft that can "fulfil the landing task" of the aircraft. In fact, the Space Shuttles were neither aircraft nor spacecraft.

Space Shuttles are no longer operational. When they were operational, they were not capable of taking off from a runway and flying into space. They were designed to be launched into space by a rocket, that was the only way they could get into space. Once in space, they would either connect to the space station or orbit the Earth to complete their mission.

The Space Shuttle flew as a glider during entry and descent into the Earth's atmosphere. During ascent, propulsion was provided by three Space Shuttle Main Engines at the base of the orbiter and two Solid Rocket Boosters attached to the External Fuel Tank.

Is the X-Wing's aerodynamic design suitable for flight inside the atmosphere of Planet Earth?

The basic design of the X-Wing can fly in the atmosphere of our planet. It would resemble a twin wing-fuselage coupled aircraft with only a large and long nose. We can easily emphasise that X-Wing cannot have a stable flight configuration without tail or forward aileron control surfaces. It will not be safe or even possible to fly this aircraft without manual, i.e. computer support. In a stable aircraft, the aerodynamic pressure centre is behind the centre of gravity, so any deviation from straight flight tends to correct the trajectory. However, the X-Wing can be controlled by advanced computer control (Fly-by-Wire).

X-Wings in arm flight over the sea.

X-Wing T-65B Starfighter 

There are some jet fighters (e.g. F-16, EF Typhoon) which have their centre of gravity behind the centre of pressure and are therefore unstable (e.g. F-16, EF Typhoon) and require computerised fast flight control systems to keep them flying straight, but they fly very well and are very manoeuvrable. It is not essential to have a vertical stabiliser (vertical wing); computers can give the X-Wing differential drag and move it on the yaw axis with ailerons, and this feature has been proven in the B-2 stealth heavy bomber.

X-Wing T-65B Model

The X-Wing fighter does not have a suitable aerodynamic design for flying in the atmosphere of Planet Earth. All intersections in the fuselage will create very intense drag due to intervening air. The engines and wingtip pylons are also not well blended, so they do not help to reduce drag.

The wings are essentially in a double wing configuration that can certainly work. The designer should have taken extra care near the fuselage because the surfaces are so close together. Careful adjustment could help to turn this somewhat to advantage in slow flight. The square wing section and all hardware protruding from the wing surfaces would need to be stabilised to reduce drag. A flat airfoil can generate lift at a non-zero angle of attack. Flat surface lift is a problem with aerodynamics, given the right thrust and controls even a pizza box can fly as a wing.

According to the aerodynamic airframe design, we can predict that the X-Wing will be able to reach a maximum speed of 1,050 km/h in the Earth's atmosphere. This will be a speed below 1 Mach, i.e. the speed of sound (1 Mach = 1226.5 km/h), in other words; X-Wing will be able to fly at "subsonic" speeds on Planet Earth.

4L4 fusial thrust engine of the X-Wing T-65B.

X-Wing T-65b's 4L4 Fusial Thrust Engine; Works According to the "Fusion Rocket" Principle 

The fusion rocket is a theoretical design for a fusion-powered rocket that could provide long-term acceleration in space without the need for efficiency or the need to carry large mass fuels. The design is based on the fact that the development of fusion energy technology is beyond today's limits and the construction of spacecraft is larger and more complex than today. 

For space flight, the most important advantage of fusion can be a very large specific impulse, and the most important disadvantage is the large mass of the reactor. The safest way to build a fusion rocket with today's technology is to use a hydrogen bomb, as proposed in NASA's Orion project. However, such a spacecraft would be too large and would not comply with the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Therefore, using a nuclear bomb for rocket propulsion is problematic on Earth, but possible in space. A separate approach could be electrical propulsion by generating electrical energy using fusion energy instead of direct propulsion.

If we are going to fly the X-Wing in the Earth's atmosphere, it would be correct to replace the Fusial Thrust engines of this imaginary vehicle with jet engines for now.

Conclusion

We could fly the X-Wing, the iconic space fighter of Star Wars, in the atmosphere of our planet, provided that we change its engines, but it would not be an effective and efficient jet fighter acceptable to any air force. On the other hand, the money men of Hollywood could finance such a project, generating considerable publicity and other Hollywood benefits for themselves. It would be nice to see the X-Wing flying through our atmosphere.