Lockheed-Georgia Omega "Sternwheeler" cargo aircraft

Triton

Donald McKelvy
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Model of Lockheed-Georgia Omega cargo aircraft concept circa 1985. The Omega is an example of an integrated wing/propulsion system concept. A long cylindrical fan is mounted near the trailing edge of the wing, crosswise to the direction of the plane's travel, a feature that has caused the airplane to be known as a "Sternwheeler." This transverse fan is powered by jet engines, whose intakes can be seen about halfway to the wing tips and atop the rear of the fuselage. The inlets for the fan itself are above and below the wing. Air taken in is exhausted on the trailing edge of the wing to provide vectored thrust--an airstream that can be directed where desired. Ducted engine air is also streamed across the canard along its length--"spanwise blowing"--in order to increase lift and avert canard stalling.

Length 103 feet with a wingspan of 119 feet. Takeoff and landing distance is 2000 feet. Maximum range is 3,600 nm, at a cruise speed of Mach .85 (585 mph) with a 125,000 lb payload. Not expected to be built before the year 2000 due to the complexity of the engine design.

Source: "Science Newsfront" by Arthur Fisher, Popular Science, February 1985.
 

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Triton, great thing you do cruising through all these old PopMech! Thanks!
 
Triton, do you scan your old copies of Popular Science, or do you use the search machine "Google Books"? ;)
 
hmmm...ducting air all the way to the canards must be a b#&@h....
OTOH, 2000 ft atkeoff distance for such a large aircraft is quite remarkable.
 
STOL canard cargo aircraft

FWIW, I've seen a study of 'Islander / Trislander' scale canard STOL.

IIRC, the private design was sized to carry spare wing-panels & engines etc, allowing basing and repair at 'rough fields'. A sub-scale prototype actually flew, and well.

Apparently the peculiar characteristics of a canard configuration assisted STOL by allowing a higher angle of attack...

I'm sure the tricycle's wide track and right-at-the-back main wheels contributed to the robust handling !!

I'm sorry, I cannot find the reference or remember the designer...

Aha ! I *think* it was mentioned in either Darrel Stinton's lucid 'Design of the Aeroplane' or 'Anatomy', but my copy's packed away...
;-((
 
Not the British Lockspeiser LDA-01? Only a subscale version was built but apparently it was ok. Was destroyed in a hangar fire.
 
Re: STOL canard cargo aircraft

Nik said:
FWIW, I've seen a study of 'Islander / Trislander' scale canard STOL.

What do you mean by that exactly, as in designed to be fitted to that aircraft?
 
FWIW
File erroneously title "VTOL_Concepts" by me
 

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Don't know if this has been posted before, is so please delete.
 

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