This is an earlier experiment. Read the amendments below before treating its findings as current.
The question
At 3× in calm air the craft without priority flew at full speed; the simple emergency craft took twice as long. Why?
What was tested
Fresh calm runs, then the no-priority craft held level under added traffic layers at 180 m and 20 m.
What was found then
Three of four surviving no-priority runs flew at 207–219 m, above all traffic, at full speed; the simple craft's weaker dodging kept it near 60 m at about half speed. Held level, the no-priority craft took about 1.8–2.3 times the straight-flight time, except one run that kept full speed 1.2 km to the side. With a layer at 180 m it dived under the traffic. With three layers it flew about 1.1 km beside the lanes. Read then: every full-speed trip used an open way out of the traffic. The three-layer sky lost 3–9 times more ordinary craft per craft-hour.
What we learned later
'Full speed needs an open way out' was withdrawn: full-speed trips went together with flying high or far to the side, but whether that is necessary was not tested.
research/reviews/researcher-c226.md
The extra losses in the three-layer sky were craft of the 20 m layer colliding near the ground. Each layer's height band was soft (craft are pulled back into it, not stopped), not a wall.
research/design/prio_floor_band_record.md
What changed
nothing
Numbers and source references
- 14 / 32 / 12
- runs in the three cyclesresearch/design/prio_calm3x_record.md; research/design/prio_escape_level_record.md; research/design/prio_escape_traffic_record.md; research/design/prio_escape_floor_record.md
- 207–219 m
- mean altitude of three of four surviving fast plain runsresearch/design/prio_calm3x_record.md
- 2.258 / 1.809
- plain craft held level, pooled lap ratio no link / 1 sresearch/design/prio_escape_level_record.md
- 1.011 / 1.2 km
- the held-level exception's lap ratio and sideways offsetresearch/design/prio_escape_level_record.md
- 11–25 m
- plain craft's run-mean altitude with a layer at 180 mresearch/design/prio_escape_traffic_record.md
- 1.678–1.697 / 2.203–2.298
- plain / simple lap ratio in the three-layer skyresearch/design/prio_escape_floor_record.md
- 1.1 km
- sideways offset of the fast runsresearch/design/prio_escape_floor_record.md
- 3–9×
- ordinary losses per craft-hour, three-layer vs two-layer sky at equal density per laneresearch/design/prio_stage4_close.md (Established 6)