Dave, are you interested in a technical discussion?
From above:
IFMU says
1) Low pilot workload
2) Low vibration
3) Low acoustic signature
4) 250 kts
5) Inspire the next generation
Dave says
That is a very insipid list of goals. Four of the five could apply to a lawn mower.
Technical question: was your manufacturing company an enterprise that build 250-knot, low vibration lawn mowers that could boast low pilot work load and low acoustic signature?
If yes, I'd consider Dave Jackson enterprises both successful and inspirational.
(Oh, and where does one find these, at Lowes or at Home Depot?
)
My neighbors would be much obliged, what with me cutting the grass in the mornings ...
Back to the fairing:
In program concept and implementation, it seems to me shortsighted to demand that the fairing be a serial, verus parallel, design criterion when you are building a scale prototype. It was proof of concept, was it not? Performance goals included the 250 knots, right? Goal met?
From where I sit, there is time to deal with the fairing as the "closer to production sized prototypes" go through the design and design reviews, don't you think?
Scope limitations in a program: a requirement.