Bristol Brabazon?

[dhermann1]

I just saw this piece in the news. I wonder how many aviation buffs in the Lounge see the new Airbus 380 as another Bristol Brabazon?
http://www.1010wins.com/World-s-Largest-Passenger-Jet-Lands-in-Connecticut/1038451
The Brabazan:
http://www.unrealaircraft.com/classics/brab.php

 

[kpreed]

Brabazen?

I just saw this piece in the news. I wonder how many aviation buffs in the Lounge see the new Airbus 380 as another Bristol Brabazon
I am no expert, but all I see is: they both have four engines and are passenger airplanes, ya and they both have two decks.(been done)

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Oh indeed!

http://www.unrealaircraft.com/classics/brab.php

And perhaps the Douglas DC-4E ! ?

http://sky-sovereign-dc-4e.blogspot.com/
-dixon cannon

 

[dhermann1]

The common thread is that they were oversized monsters, whose reach exceeded their grasp. The Brabazon was a costly flop. Turbo props and jets made it instantly obsolete. The question I'm asking is, will the Airbus 380 turn out to be a company destroying white elephant? It's already had all sorts of development problems, its delivery has been pushed back by something like a year and several big orders have been cancelled. The airplane is the product of governmental meddling in the management process, and looks to me to have the word "FIASCO" written all over it.
I take it that my extremely erudite (that means he really knows his bleep) colleague, Dixon Cannon, seems to agree with me.

 

[staggerwing]

Nothing in common. The Brabazon oozed class and style from every rivet. The Airbus is a big tin can into which they'll pack a thousand people in seats too small for preschoolers.

 

[Twitch]

I'm familiar with the Brabazon. Quite a monster. I always thought the 10-engine Saunder-Roe Princess flying boat was another contender for biggest monster. It was bigger in some respects. While neither had as many seats as the modern planes, 72-105 seat layouts, their bizarre sizes were wacky enough.
http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/saunders_princess.php

And here's a comparison between the large B-29 and the humoungous B-36

 

[kpreed]

Speaking of the B-36, the developed a passenger/transport model, the XC-99, now that's big!

 

[dhermann1]

And still, the Spruce Goose was bigger!

 

[Dixon Cannon]

From the sublime to the rediculous....

Airbus had considerd stand-up seating on the new plane...

In reality the industry is headed for an about face. The airines of this century (after all the legacy carriers are allowed to go bankrupt!) is the newly devloped SATS system. http://sats.nasa.gov/ A system similar to an airborne 'Super Shuttle'; lots of small jet aircraft (The Eclipse, for example) shuttling about the country picking-up and dropping off, dispatched from one small airport to another. Say good-bye to hub & spoke and long lines at the terminal. This is the way to run an airline!

The only country that will need the new Airbus 380 is China, to shuttle peasants from one rice field to another - perhaps with 'stand-up seating'!

So thinks Dixon Cannon.

 

[dhermann1]

That's assuming they're still in business. Of course, the governments will probably bail them out.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Sure enough!

Speaking of the B-36, the developed a passenger/transport model, the XC-99, now that's big!

Here's one for the record books! Geesh, what a monster!

http://www.air-and-space.com/xc99.htm

-dixon cannon

 

[Absinthe_1900]

The section on the Lockheed Constitution is interesting as well:

http://www.air-and-space.com/Lockheed R6V Constitution.htm

 

[20thCenturyTim]

Interesting Comparison with the Brabazon...

I just saw this piece in the news. I wonder how many aviation buffs in the Lounge see the new Airbus 380 as another Bristol Brabazon?
http://www.1010wins.com/World-s-Largest-Passenger-Jet-Lands-in-Connecticut/1038451
The Brabazan:
http://www.unrealaircraft.com/classics/brab.php

I think some of the others are closer. The A380 is a big whale and it is going to get beached with stories like this today.

"...The preliminary report by the stock market regulator, suggesting that EADS executives sold shares and exercised stock options after learning about significant delays to the A380, came less than two weeks before a glitzy ceremony marking the delivery of the first superjumbo to Singapore Airlines..."

Sometimes building a successful aircraft is a matter of timing and good luck. Sometimes like the Brabazon history and advancements quickly pass them by.

 

[dhermann1]

Cool behemoths

There are SO many fascinating and dramatic stories of aircraft development. So many amazing planes that almost made it, and others that were obvious disasters from the get go. Some of my favorites are the French medium sized bombers of the between the war years. They thought they'd have flying medieval castles, I think.
My other favorite "rise and fall" story is the Avro Arrow. But that's a tale for another thread.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Some of my favorites are the French medium sized bombers of the between the war years. They thought they'd have flying medieval castles, I think.

My other favorite "rise and fall" story is the Avro Arrow. But that's a tale for another thread.

Those would be France's Maginot line of the air.

The Avro Arrow & TSR-2 should been explored further.

 

[Diamondback]

Indeed. There are only two birds I'd rather strap into if I had to fly an interceptor sortie than the CF-105:

1. A prof's old F-106 Delta Dart.

2. An F-12. (Think Blackbird with an "interceptor package" added.) Particularly one like this PhotoShop:

The tail markings are the 318th FIS at McChord AFB, my grandfather and my prof's mutual old squadron.

EDIT: And I don't see A380 really taking off, either. Too expensive to rebuild infrastructure for. Just the number of people going through a terminal at one time alone would be a problem... I'd see it mainly as a status-symbol for OverPricingEveryCan oil-sheiks and as a matter of "national prestige" for some of the European flag-carriers like Concorde was for the Brits and French.

 

[Twitch]

The 1st 4 aircraft were designated A-11 as the CIA single seat version interceptor but the official USAF version name was the YF-12.

In this form the ship would carry either eight Hughes GAR-9 Falcon nuclear missiles or Hughes AIM-47A Falcon missiles in four weapons bays or free-fall nuclear devices. The weapons bays explosively ejected the ordnance down and out. This was necessary due to the high launch speeds required. The CIA would have about fifteen of the craft they designated as the A-12. After the YF-12 all ships were laid out as recon craft only. That first A-11/YF-12 was natural metal finish with Air Force serial number 60-6934. It was used for initial testing along with 60-6935 and 936. The latter pair was painted with heat dissipating matte black paint.

 

[dhermann1]

Airpower/Wings

Twitch, did you ever write for those great twin magazines, Airpower and Wings? I was an AVID reader for many years.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Twitch, did you ever write for those great twin magazines, Airpower and Wings? I was an AVID reader for many years.

http://www.wingsairpower.com/what-happened

:rage:

 

[dhermann1]

I wondered why I hadn't seen it in a long time. There was a time when I had a small mountain of old issues of Airpower/Wings. She who must be obeyed made me get rid of them. Mistake! They will soon be collectors' items. LOVED that magazine! The stories of airplane development are fascinating, and there are so many lessons beyond aviation to be learned. So many of the things that have happened in the evolution of the computer industry parallel what happened in the aviation industry. Darn!