World's Largest Plane
Sep 18, 2017 11:18:58 #
This just doesn't look right. Imagine the stresses at the joint between the two bodies.
http://www.thebrofessional.net/say-hello-worlds-largest-plane-stratolaunch/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=CRAIG_TheBrofessional.net-Desktop-US-Strat-G1&utm_term=readersdigest-familyhandyman&utm_campaign=The+World%27s+Largest+Jet+Is+Ready+To+Take+Flight
http://www.thebrofessional.net/say-hello-worlds-largest-plane-stratolaunch/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=CRAIG_TheBrofessional.net-Desktop-US-Strat-G1&utm_term=readersdigest-familyhandyman&utm_campaign=The+World%27s+Largest+Jet+Is+Ready+To+Take+Flight
Sep 19, 2017 06:53:20 #
melismus
Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country
Looks like they could reduce twisting stress on wing by tying the two horizontal stabilizers together.
Sep 19, 2017 06:56:25 #
It would seem to have to be extremely reinforced - even a little turbulence would put so much stress on that joint... I just wonder what the point of this plane is...
Sep 19, 2017 07:30:14 #
machia
Loc: NJ
Stresses on the wing mid section must be enormous so its ability to flex has to be a must ? Studying the photographs leaves me wondering why the horizontal stabilizers aren't joined . This must add torsional stress to the main wing mid section as well . I don't like it . As Jerry said , it just doesn't look right . Time will tell .
Sep 19, 2017 08:12:15 #
sb wrote:
It would seem to have to be extremely reinforced - even a little turbulence would put so much stress on that joint... I just wonder what the point of this plane is...
And they will mount a huge rocket between the two bodies.
Sep 19, 2017 08:53:27 #
machia wrote:
Stresses on the wing mid section must be enormous so its ability to flex has to be a must ? Studying the photographs leaves me wondering why the horizontal stabilizers aren't joined . This must add torsional stress to the main wing mid section as well . I don't like it . As Jerry said , it just doesn't look right . Time will tell .
At first, I though it was someone Photoshopping a shot of Richard Branson's Spaceship Two mother ship that has 4 engines. Definitely a mockup, as evidenced by other photos. Carbon fiber can take a lot of stress but don't forget the wing is a solid unit that is doing all the lifting; the two fuselages are just a little dead weight along for the ride and aren't looking to twist in different directions. It would seem to make structural sense to join the horizontal stabilizers like a P-38 or Burt Rutan's around-the-world-nonstop plane but hey; we're photographers not rocket scientists.
Sep 19, 2017 10:23:33 #
sb wrote:
It would seem to have to be extremely reinforced - even a little turbulence would put so much stress on that joint... I just wonder what the point of this plane is...
I would think in theory, that the point is two fuselages will accommodate twice as many passengers.
Sep 19, 2017 10:49:00 #
It's not a passenger plane; it's designed to carry rockets off the ground and launch them in mid air. This would save a lot of weight for the rocket. which is a good thing.
No passenger plane would ever be designed that way for the simple reason that when the plane turns or banks to one side or the other, it does so along its axis and that means the passengers in one fuselage would go up quite a bit and the ones in the other fuselage would go down quite a bit. It would make for a very uncomfortable ride.
That wing section in the middle is probably extremely strong if it's going to carry up to three rockets to altitude; I would not worry about it breaking first.
No passenger plane would ever be designed that way for the simple reason that when the plane turns or banks to one side or the other, it does so along its axis and that means the passengers in one fuselage would go up quite a bit and the ones in the other fuselage would go down quite a bit. It would make for a very uncomfortable ride.
That wing section in the middle is probably extremely strong if it's going to carry up to three rockets to altitude; I would not worry about it breaking first.
Sep 19, 2017 13:22:03 #
Dan Mc
Loc: NM
A good friend and former USAF pilot now files for Delta and is in the left seat of 767s....he places one of those Hawaiian hula bobble dolls on the dashboard control panel, center windshield. One of the big bosses from Delta was on his aircraft one day and conducted a surprise visit to the flight deck, saw the hula girl and in a disciplinary tone asked, "What the Hell is THAT?!!.
My friend smiled and replied, "Well, sir, that is my air turbulence indicator"!!!
My friend smiled and replied, "Well, sir, that is my air turbulence indicator"!!!
Sep 21, 2017 10:10:21 #
Yesterday they fired up all 6 engines on the plane for the first time.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/news/a28283/behemoth-stratolaunch-aircraft-fires-up-six-engines-first-time/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/news/a28283/behemoth-stratolaunch-aircraft-fires-up-six-engines-first-time/
Dec 19, 2017 12:37:37 #
And this week, they did taxi tests.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a14462376/enormous-rocket-launching-stratolaunch-plane-conducts-first-taxi-tests/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a14462376/enormous-rocket-launching-stratolaunch-plane-conducts-first-taxi-tests/
Dec 19, 2017 13:03:47 #
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