47·
1 year agoI think the behavior could actually make sense with real physics, as the vehicle might be designed to mimic what the driver expects rather than real physics. For example, my car often shuts off the engine when I am not accelerating because it is a hybrid. So, if I don’t press the gas pedal, it wouldn’t really make sense for it to move. However, it is designed to artificially engage the engine when none of the pedals are pressed to more closely mimic the behavior of non-hybrid cars.
If most pilots are used to the behavior if a vehicle in atmosphere, a space ship might be designed to mimic that behavior (through weak reverse thrusters or something else) to make it easier for pilots to get used to.
Exactly; the idea is familiarity, not efficiency. To be fair, this argument doesn’t make sense for all situations, so it is possible I misunderstood what the original post was talking about specifically.