Aerial relay transport aircraft system

[hesham]

Hi,

also anther new system to me;
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19780021103_1978021103.pdf

 

[cluttonfred]

That spanloader looks like great fun, but I don't think there's a snowball's chance in h*ll that this scheme would ever be adopted given the enormous safety issues inherent with mid-air docking and transfer. Ugh.

 

[robunos]

now I know that spanloader has LFC to reduce drag...

But with that low aspect ratio and huge squared-off tips the drag would still be phenomenal, and don't even think about the tip vortices....!!

cheers,
Robin.

 

[Tophe]

Thanks for this very special twin-boom plane, so easy to twin itself (it seems, theoritically)... Designers are nice dreamers ;D

 

[Michel Van]

Now I've seen everything

that report beat even the German WW2 "Wunderwaffe, Schnell! Schnell !!" Madness
and how many FAA* official had a heart attack, while reading this report ?

*=U.S. Federal Aviation Administration

 

[agricola64]

there was a SF short story, using exactly this system / aircraft .. i will see if i can remember the author and title ..

the flying wing / multi span loader got its fuel form the planes meeting up with it - so essentially it was never landing ..

 

[agricola64]

ahh ..fopund the story .

timothy zahn "between a rock and a high place" - collected in "time bombs and zahndry other stories"

 

[Tophe]

Agricola64, was this just "word' story :-\ or else: cartoon with pictures ;D?

 

[agricola64]

Agricola64, was this just "word' story :-\ or else: cartoon with pictures ;D?

unfortunately it was just a "word story", but one of my friends believes to remember that there was a version of it in one of the SF&F magazines like "analog" with illustrations - i am still searching and if i can find it i will post the pictures ..