WI: the Me 163 is designed around a jet engine

[McPherson]

It vibrated so badly at high speed that it snapped Geoffrey De Havilland Jnr's neck.

Additionally tail control was awful. This plane is a pusher. No canards either to help nose point? Dutch roll. Pilot killer.

 

[tomo pauk]

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This coupled with smaller fuel tanks. Pretty sure the 163's wings weren't actually built with any sort of spaces for tankage. Added to the fact that more of the fuselage is taken up by engine and duct trunking.
I would be interested to see people's estimates of how much fuel the jet version could/might carry hence giving an idea of just how long the machine could stay aloft.
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IIRC, the leading edges of the Me 163C *may* have been intended as fuel tanks - I've seen at least one photo that indicated it but can't remember which book it was in.
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Wings on the Me 163 contained 4 tank total, each carrying the C-stoff. Pages 11 and 21 from here.
All together, the Me 163 carried 1660 liters of fuel+oxidizer, for total weight of 2020 kg. For comparison, the Me 262 carried 2570 liters of fuel, and Bf 109 carried 400. All internal tankage.

 

[riggerrob]

Additionally tail control was awful. This plane is a pusher. No canards either to help nose point? Dutch roll. Pilot killer.

Good point!
deHavilland Swallow had a small rudder only a short distance behind the centre of gravity.
Eric "Winkle" Brown also experienced that sort of vibration and believed that the only reason he survived was that he was shorter than deHavilland, so did not whack his head as hard on the canopy.

 

[andys]

see above videos

That might possibly attract any Allied fighters in the area like flies to, well, you know...

 

[Peg Leg Pom]

Or not that many changes

OK you can get them in the air, how do you get them back on the ground?

 

[urielventis]

OK you can get them in the air, how do you get them back on the ground?

Every thing flying in the air end up returning to the ground, especially a starfighter.
Biggest problem is making it fly again...

 

[marathag]

OK you can get them in the air, how do you get them back on the ground?

In WWIII think, could land on highways after all the airbases were destroyed

 

[SwampTiger]

A Me-163 jet would be a very different aircraft from OTL. I had considered the idea of an early conversion, 1939-41. The aircraft would be @ 3400-3500 kgs with @ 1200 liters of diesel/kerosene. The fuselage would need a stretch forward to balance the heavier jet engine. I considered the HeS-30 as a power plant. The aircraft would have a thrust to weight of @ 0.25. With proper aerodynamics, it should approach 600-630 kph. The aircraft was based upon glider design, so flame out is not a major threat. The OTL Me-163 had a Mach warning indicator due to unfavorable near Mach flying characteristics.

Heinkel was instrumental in building and wind tunnel testing the DFS-194 for Lippisch. I wonder if Heinkel was overseeing the Lippisch build, would it reach service earlier, Would a jet variant be considered? The HeS-6b would have allowed a test program, and possibly a trainer development of the ATL Me-163.

 

[thaddeus]

when they were developing the Enzian weapon the "Konrad" engine proved superior, so it might be possible the ME-163/263 could simply receive a better rocket engine? http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/enzian.html

this is a missile, no great numbers were produced, etc., etc., however the Konrad motor is showing twice the range??