aero minimums ( just for fun )

[skyking]

That wiki entry is a total fiction. I'm sorry boys, you have mistakenly identified the once top secret "Turbo Enflatulator Model 101"
It was designed to utilize "pilot byproducts" to enhance thrust. Note the careful placement of the cockpit.
The prototype was crashed on a night flight after an unfortunate first encounter with vindaloo......

[gone-ot]

...nope!

...look-up Italy's first jet aircraft, the Caproni Campini N.1; it used a piston engine to "pump" the air into the jet combustion chamber...similar in arrangement to that ducted-fan plane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campini_Caproni_CC.2

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by graydonengineering

I drive by one of these every day on my way to work at the Pima Air and Space museum. They have all kinds of old plains here in long term outdoor storage since we live in a dry climate. The thing that catches my eye is how thin the skin is on these big plains. You can tell by how it is slightly crinkled that it is nothing more than extra thick aluminum foil! Lower wieght = greater payload! They must be crasy light for how big they are.

Looking at my photo of NASA's guppy got me thinking about the thread.I photographed it at Pima,first introduced to me by my dad long ago,who'd donated a complete set of B-24 service manuals to the museum.
'Next door' at one of the salvage yards,I marveled at the US NAVY Grumman Tracers,with the enormous Jaray pumpkin seed radomes on their backs.They are an inspiration for the trailer project.
A yes,Tucson,the visual candy store!

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by lunarhighway

google "burnelli" a pioneer in flying wings and planes with an airfoil shaped fuselage, most of his ideas sadly never caught on and so planes are still tubes with wings stuck to it today.
Vincent Burnelli - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pics | Burnelli

I have seen artist renderings of his blended wing aircraft which I expect we will see in the future.Computer flight controls make a craft like this very doable.
Thanks for the images!

[autogyro]

If I'm not mistaken, the C97/Stratocruiser was a pretty much a bloated B49 anyway. Since the Stratocruiser was a commercial bust for Boeing, and they had that assembly line all set up...hmmm..?

[autogyro]

OOPS! I meant B29! really I did.

[some_other_dave]

I've been inside of one of the Guppies. It was pretty astonishing; you could easily play volleyball in there...

-soD

[autogyro]

OK, here's my contribution, the Caspian Sea Monster,or Ekranoplan. Those Russkies just plain own "weird.

[gone-ot]

...oops, link no workee!

[JasonG]

The guppy just goes to show that cargo can be shipped aerodynamically.
Imagine if 18 wheelers were shaped like this, or like high speed trains :-O