Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: RAIDER14 on November 08, 2005, 09:07:54 PM
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Will there ever be planes bigger than the A-380 and the AN-225?
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Ya C-5 is bigger than the A-380 i think.
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ok will there ever be a plane bigger than the C-5,A-380,AN-124,AN-225
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Like the four minute mile, the record established by the A-380 is a milestone that will never be broken.
The C-5 has a gross takeoff weight of 348,818 kg, the A-380 has a gtw of 560,000 kg.
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yes but can you load a few m1a1 abrams tanks in an A-380. Or how bout a couple of cobras? ;)
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Sure. I'd like to see a fleet of super planes, massive flying wings that carry thousands and have malls and lounges and whatnot. Powered by fusion reactors or power beamed down by orbiting solar satellites, these behemoth would never land.
Docking collars in aerodynamically stable areas would receive small commuter planes from airports within range of the behemoths path. Planes would climb, match paths, intercept some type of ILS, and hold themselves in position, maybe with the aid of some collar. Passengers would debark, any passengers heading to whatever airport the feeder was going to next would board, and then the plane would leave, making room for the next one closing in on the giant.
Once onboard, passengers would either go to cattle style seating or purchase inflight entertainments of different types, stuff like that.
Maybe these planes are modular. Big flying wings that link up to provide larger structures in air so that, when needed, any segment might detach and land at some large airport set up to receive it. Bigger segments (such as those that have malls and other revenue structures, or reactors) might land at places like Palmdale with easy approaches and big, long runways.
Some day in the future, I'll meet y'all at 40,000 feet at the big bubble glass sundeck atop the Grand Pacifica somewhere between Japan and Seattle. We'll meet by the fountain.
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Originally posted by Holden McGroin
Like the four minute mile, the record established by the A-380 is a milestone that will never be broken.
The C-5 has a gross takeoff weight of 348,818 kg, the A-380 has a gtw of 560,000 kg.
Is it now a record eh? What about An-225?
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There is also a 50 year old airplane bigger than the 380.
a-380 wingspan: 79.8 m
h4 wingspan: 97.54 m
Hey Russian you missed the point. The 4 minute mile is not the record either.
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the next step................ots called UFO...........mother ship!
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With the high fuel prices, maybe will huge airships return to the scene of air transportation.
An helium filled airship is certainly the safest flying vehicle. The bigger the better (less easily disturbed by gusts of wind).
I know I'd LOVE to cross the Atlantic in an airship.
Oooh and jumping from one would be sexy too!
BTW check the new Zeppelin:
NT (http://www.zeppelin-nt.com)
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(http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/design/size/spruce-goose.jpg)
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(http://aquaglide.ru/images/img6.jpg)
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Originally posted by Debonair
(http://aquaglide.ru/images/img6.jpg)
This is more a "Surface effect ship" , than an airplane...they only skim a few feet over the water.
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Originally posted by Gunslinger
yes but can you load a few m1a1 abrams tanks in an A-380. Or how bout a couple of cobras? ;)
How many Abrams are you going to fit in C-5 ? How many is "few" ?
You just can't beat an An-225; that monster carries twice the payload of the "Galaxy".
Anyways if A-380 would be modified to transport aircraft you can bet your bellybutton it would carry more stuff and farther than C-5. However it would still be a bit lighter and shorter than An-225.
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There is only one An225. Which obviously limits it's usefullness. I've seen a a few times. It's quite some leviathan.
Reading my copy of Aviation weeks it seems that the Pentagon might soon stop all buys of C130's and C117's causing both lines to shut down. Leaving the field open to the Europeans. The C5's are apparently very inefficent and aging.
So who knows, perhaps one day we will see USAF A380's carrying M1's and helicopters out to the latest flashpoint.
Interesting!
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I think technology will bring us faster, for less energy used, rather than bigger. Lack of large-airframe infrastructure and passenger-preference convenience will discourage further growth in size of commerical airliners.
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Originally posted by ASTAC
This is more a "Surface effect ship" , than an airplane...they only skim a few feet over the water.
so did the Wrights at Kittyhawk but that's an airplane too.
For the nitpickers...Water = Surface
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The Ekranoplan pictured can only fly within ground effect. It's a great idea for carrying heavy loads fast, but can really only practically "fly" over water.
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This 7E7 commercial is brought to you by Boeing
I think technology will bring us faster, for less energy used, rather than bigger. Lack of large-airframe infrastructure and passenger-preference convenience will discourage further growth in size of commerical airliners.
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Originally posted by Chairboy
The Ekranoplan pictured can only fly within ground effect. It's a great idea for carrying heavy loads fast, but can really only practically "fly" over water.
70% of the earth's surface is water.
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Originally posted by Holden McGroin
70% of the earth's surface is water.
And 99.9% of surface land is more than a mile away from an ocean shore. Pluses and minuses...
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Better disband the maritime industry. Container ships cant get to Denver either.
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Hey Holden,
I'm not sure what we're arguing about. I was just making a note that the Ekranoplan technology can't really be used anywhere other than the oceans. It's a vehicle that's slower than airplanes, has the same fuel consumption per lb carried, and its primary use as designed was to quickly deploy invasion forces (with heavy infrastructure).
Unlike maritime shipping, the Ekranoplan tech is very fuel intensive per lb of cargo, more like airplanes.
If you're just trying to make a point, then just say so. You're definately entitled to do so if you feel a need for that validation, I just don't want to waste thread space if we're not really having a discussion.
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Originally posted by ASTAC
This is more a "Surface effect ship" , than an airplane...they only skim a few feet over the water.
That was in response to the Spruce Goose, which was also never out of ground effect.
Dont miss the McMinnville, OR aviation museum if you're in the area. Its not just the Spruce Goose, they got tons of nice planes there. Also aerobatics training at that airport. Corby is there also, he is Oregon's best weather briefer.
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Originally posted by Furball
This 7E7 commercial is brought to you by Boeing
:D