Simviation Forums

What was the better long-haul airliner - Brabazon or Princess?

Neither. They were both based on outdated concepts & never entered production. Only one prototype of each ever flew.

I was fortunate enough to see them both in the air. If I had to choose between the two I prefer the looks of the Princess.

How does Brabazon compare with its contemporary Convair XC-99 (which also had just one flying frame)?

I think the Brabazon was still working on a slighlty old fashioned principle compared to the Convair, which although the same size was planned to carry twice as many pax (not quite as far) - which was more forward thinking at the time.

I don't know much about the XC-99 & had to look it up. Both aircraft were roughly the same size (230 foot wing span). The main difference was that the XC-99 was intended as a military transport for the USAF & developed from an existing bomber, the B-36. (A civil variant, the Convair Model 37, was planned but never built.) The Brabazon was intended from the outset as a long-range luxury airliner although it was loosely based on an unbuilt pre-WWII bomber design.

The XC-99 set several records & gave useful service between 1950 & 1957. "The sole XC-99 served until 1957, including much use during the Korean War. It made twice weekly trips from Kelly AFB to the aircraft depot at McClellan AFB, California, transporting supplies and parts for the B-36 bomber while returning by way of other bases or depots making pick-ups and deliveries along the way. During its operational life the XC-99 logged over 7,400 hours total time." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_XC-99

Unlike the Brabazon & Princess the XC-99 survived the scrapman. According to Wikipedia it's undergoing restoration & will eventually be displayed at the Air Force Museum.

PS. Just found this. http://www.air-and-space.com/xc99.htm

If you have a look at the fuselages of Brabazon and XC-99, note that the outside fuselage width of Brabazon - about 500 cm - matches the width of Boeing 767 - 503 cm. Both have a single passenger deck. The fuselage length of Brabazon and XC-99 are both about 55 m, so roughly matching 767-300.

From

http://www.air-and-space.com/peacemkr/c ... sitive.htm

we can see the fuselage cross-section of XC-99. Narrower than Brabazon, at 434 cm outside, but still much wider than A320 (395 cm), and a doubledecker.

And here
http://www.air-and-space.com/peacemkr/c ... 9%20cl.jpg
are a lounge and a restroom of a Pan Am Convair. 767 certainly does have space for such things... has anyone seen such features on any widebody jet?

So... a Princess is also a doubledecker. Does anyone know its fuselage width?