Is achievingorbit that easy?

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Actually, it does -- a spaceship with wings can in principle achieve orbit without every having thrust exceeding 1G

Only if its maximum airspeed exceeds circular-orbit velocity. Once the air gets thin enough that you can exceed Air Speed then the wings stop providing lift.

According to Spaceships p. 35 maximum airspeed is 2,500 m.p.h times the square root of acceleration in gees (for a streamlined spacecraft). Orbital speed is 5.6 miles per second, or 20,160 m.p.h. So you need 65 gees of thrust to fly at orbital speed.