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Well, you don't see one of these every day. It was parked up just down from my office. Believe it or not, it is decked out as a executive jet, complete with bedroom...........Mind you, not to my taste....

Matt

Super shots Matt!

A cry too far from my favorite An-2...

Nice shots Matt! It's still a strange looking puppy. If those engines were positioned any farther forward they'd need support struts.

Hawkeye07 wrote:Nice shots Matt! It's still a strange looking puppy. If those engines were positioned any farther forward they'd need support struts.

My thoughts too Doug, the torque box supporting then engines must be made out of grid iron....

Matt

expat wrote:

Hawkeye07 wrote:Nice shots Matt! It's still a strange looking puppy. If those engines were positioned any farther forward they'd need support struts.

My thoughts too Doug, the torque box supporting then engines must be made out of grid iron....

Matt

I wonder how they respond to turbulence? Being the cautious flyer I am I think if I owned one I'd be X-Raying the mounts every 100 hours for evidence of stress cracks.

I can see it now....
"Capt Doug we just lost number 2 engine!" "Well calm down and restart it." "No Capt Doug, we LOST number 2, it's gone!! as in nowhere to be found, especially on the right wing!"
"Well then jettison fuel from the left wing so we can maintain a wings level attitude and we'll just find a fancy airport with a good lounge to land at." As our hero Capt Doug turns to the Redheaded
bombshell of a flight attendant sitting in his lap he says "Sweetheart, dig through my flight bag and find our list of acceptable bar & lounge facilities in this area and get on the radio to the closest
one and have them get my Rum and Ginger ready will you?" "And tell them no ice this time! their tip depends on it." Turning back to his hysterical and voluptuous co-pilot our hero calmly inquires
"So is this your first "Engine Out" procedure my dear? Nothing to it really, maintain your airspeed, wings level and don't spill the martinis."

That aircraft uses the "blown-wing concept" which was pioneered by Boeing and McDonnell-Douglas in US Govt.
contracts that called for Proof-Of-Concept aircraft from both companies. This was in the 1970's. The engines actually create Lift for the wing so they can take off short and climb rapidly even with very heavy loads. There was great concern at the time that since the engines blew the wings for added lift, an engine failure on a slow-and-heavy takeoff would be catastrophic. The USA did not provide any mass production contracts for either airplane. The Boeing concept aircraft with its two engines is sitting in the PIMA Air Museum if you want to see it. I don't know that happened to the 4-engined McDonnell- Douglas design or if it even still exists.
I actually SAW THE McDonnell airplane live and up close!
Our friend was an executive with the company at that time and he gave us a guided tour of the factory in Long Beach. We went through all of the security procedures, had ID-tags made and had our cameras taken and locked up, and then we boarded a Golf-Cart for the tour with our friend driving.
At one point our friend [who will remain nameless] looked at me and said, "do you know about our special prototype aircraft project" ? I said "yes, I do." He then said, "when I turn the next corner, if we don't see any guards, jump out and run to the hangar door and look in through the crack where the doors meet".
Thats what I did, and I saw that big beautiful blown-wing 4-engine Jet with the wide-body and engines that looked way to big for the airplane. My Wife was too afraid of getting caught and stayed in the Golf-Cart. It was a great tour and we saw the new DC-9 model 80's and the new DC-10's being built. Many of the DC-10 design features were unusual so they were extra-interesting. The airplane above looks just a bit like a much smaller version of the Boeing design.

Flacke wrote:That aircraft uses the "blown-wing concept" which was pioneered by Boeing and McDonnell-Douglas in US Govt.
contracts that called for Proof-Of-Concept aircraft from both companies. This was in the 1970's.

The Blackburn Buccaneer was using blown wing technology in the early 50's, however it was not using the engines for the effect, but bleed air over the wings. It only went out of service in 1994.

Matt

Hello Expat, the Buccaneer is truly an unsung hero . That is such a well-designed and versatile combat aircraft that could be used in a multitude of roles. It was the real work-horse in the Falklands War and it is no surprise that it reamained in service for so long. A really great airplane.

Flacke wrote:Hello Expat, the Buccaneer is truly an unsung hero . That is such a well-designed and versatile combat aircraft that could be used in a multitude of roles. It was the real work-horse in the Falklands War and it is no surprise that it reamained in service for so long. A really great airplane.

Hi Flacke, I think you have confused the Harrier and the Buccaneer, it was the Harrier that was involved in the Falklands. The Buccaneer went into combat in the first Gulf war and did a great job.....Not bad for a 40 year old lady, an analogue aircraft fighting in a digital war....

Matt