What was this (flying bridge) ?

[hesham]

Hi,


here is the Heinkel He.46 towed a " flying bridge" as in Google translate,no further
information about it,can anyone tell us what was it ?.


Jet & Prop 3/1993

 

[Jemiba]

As mentioned in the caption, the photo is from the book "Der Flugzeugschlepp von den Anfängen
bis heute" (Aircraft towing - From the beginnings to today). and there's really no explicit description.
But it is shown in the chapter, which deals with the combination of standard tow, using a long line
and the so-called "rigid tow, where the towed aircraft was position directly behind the towing aircraft.
I can imagine, that this "flying catwalk" (as another translation of "Brückenlaufsteg", which would be
bridge catwalk, but seems to make not more sense to me) was made up of three independent flying
wing elements, that could be coupled to a single three winged glider by shortening the tow lines between
them in flight. But this is just an idea, maybe someone has mor information.

 

[hesham]

Many thanks for translating my dear Jemiba,


and you know Google translate is not perfect.

 

[Artie Bob]

There was indeed a German flying bridge, designed to be towed by an aircraft and dropped to assist pioneer troops to make quick crossings. I do not believe they swa operational service. I have a poor quality image of one being towed by a Hs 126.

Best regards,

Artie Bob

 

[Orionblamblam]

Seems like the sort of thing that Ryan would have gotten into 20 years later, by simply attaching a Rogallo wing, wheels and a tow cable to *anything.*