The Burnelli designation nightmare!

Stargazer

ACCESS: USAP
Senior Member
Joined
25 June 2009
Messages
13,624
Reaction score
2,644
Though I'm usually very fond of listing aircraft and trying to make sense of model designations, I have to admit that Burnelli is one of the few names that scares the heck out of me! I guess I'm not the only one since no list of Burnelli designations seems to have been attempted previously by anyone else on this forum... There is just NO logic in Burnelli types, period!

Anyway, without trying to give any order or logic, we can already list what we have, and then build up...

Real aircraft:
Burnelli-Carisi (ABC Pusher Biplane) (1915)
KB-1 (Continental) (1916)
KB-3/T (Continental) (1919)
RB-1 (Remington-Burnelli) (1921)
RB-2 (Remington-Burnelli) (1924)
UB-20 (1924)
CB-16 (UB-16) (1926)
X-3/GX-3 Guggenheim (1929)
UB-14 (1934)
OA-1 Clyde Clipper (Cunliffe-Owen,with Bristol) (1937)
CBY-3 Loadmaster (1945)
Helusa (Meyers-Burnelli) (1945)

Projects:
RBL-6
BR Mk II (1936)
XBA-1 (1939?)
A-1 (1939)
CB-34 (1939)
X-BAB-3 (1939)
V-1000
B-1000 (1942)
B-2000 (1942)
B-2000B Super Bomber (1942)
(jet fighter) (1947)
(jet fighter) (1948)
XNB-1/XNB-1125 (1950)
(transport) (1951)
CB-7 Car Ferry (1952)
(transport Studies I and II) (1960)
GB-171 (1961)
BG-177
GB-888/A (1964)

... plus the MANY undesignated, undated projects that have been pictured and/or built in model form!

I'm sure some of you can add to this list... ;-)
 
My dear Skyblazer,

I can add from my list;

CB-8 was a freighter aircraft Project
GB-108 was a twin engined transport and cargo aircraft Project
 
Here's the opinion of aviation design professionals on the lifting fuselage design of Vincent Burnelli.

Richard A Wood NASA Langley AIAA 2003 - http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Aeronautics/Burnelli_AIAA.pdf - With several follow-up papers.
Mr. Wood used the word "Striking" to describe the similarities in Burnelli's 1960's airliner design compared to NASA's proposed X-43B hypersonic design.

University of Toronto, T. Reist, D. Zingg 2016, continuing study - http://oddjob.utias.utoronto.ca/~dwz/Miscellaneous/ReistZinggJofA2016.pdf
Conclusion: With the right materials and design the Lifting Fuselage Configuration (LFC) could out perform the BWB and be more practical.

Explanation of Burnelli Lifting Fuselage design logic - http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Aeronautics/Burnelli.htm

Burnelli's LFC was absolutely ahead of its time. Compare to the fuselage on any modern fighter since the 60's including F-14. F-15. YF-23, F-22, F-35. All these have body lift designed around the power plant(s) and internal weapons. NASA'a Double Bubble airliner was an attempt to get body lift shape out of the fuselage and still pressurize it. This design is now obsolete since NASA proved the strength of their newest composite, PRSEUS. Using this, the LFC can be built in varying sizes from 50 passenger, short haul designs to 1,000 passenger airliners.

Attachments: NASA X-43B, Burnelli GB-888, Future Military Cargo X-43B.jpg GB-888.jpg SC-800 5_13_2017001 (2).jpg
 
Maybe the discussion of the merits of Burnelli's design choices should be moved to another thread? That way we can focus on enumerating the designs in this one?
 
NASA'a Double Bubble airliner was an attempt to get body lift shape out of the fuselage and still pressurize it. This design is now obsolete since NASA proved the strength of their newest composite, PRSEUS. Using this, the LFC can be built in varying sizes from 50 passenger, short haul designs to 1,000 passenger airliners.

If some advanced new composite finally makes the Burnelli concept make sense, imagine just how much better a good conventional jetliner configuration would be using that new material.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom