Feb 162010
Enjoy some patent drawings from Northrop, illustrating how they’d turn the B-49 Flying Wing bomber into a commercial passenger transport. Largely the same aircraft, but with the center wing section extended aft further to increase passenger volume, and the gun-armed tail “stinger” replaced with a glassed-over observation lounge.
The future was *so* much cooler in the 1950’s…
8 Responses to “Northrop’s flying wing airliner”
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I like the idea a lot, but how would they get a useful number of they up to the gate at the airport? The obvious solution is to rig up something to you could slide they in sideways once they stop (which would be even more compact than current configurations) but it would mean having that equipment either integral to the aircraft or installed at every destination.
Jim
*so, I mean
Really cool a “Bomber Airliner” or “Airliner Bomber” as you prefer….
The future was weird back in 50’s, flying wings, flying cars, flying people (with the jetpack) and….. oh yes spaceships.
And now?
If we’re lucky capsules (I was critic even with Orion).
Where are the winged spacecrafts?
And the wheel space stations?
And the lunar spacecrafts (not Altair)?
And finally why the current times doesn’t fit with the bright future introduced us when we was kids????
>how would they get a useful number of they up to the gate at the airport
Park a little ways out and walk, or maybe take a bus. I think that’s pretty much how it was done before the day of then “jetway,” anyway.
> why the current times doesn’t fit with the bright future introduced us when we was kids????
Because Hope And Change (translation: massive growth in stagnation-enforcing Government and bureauocracy) have replaced *real* hope and change. Why bother innovating when the government will tax two-thirds of your profits away and lawyers will sue the other two-thirds of your profits away?
Northrop built a full-scale mock-up of that aircraft’s interior and made a short film to advertise the concept:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub6U9CL0K_A
It really would have been something to see if they had built it.
It would be interesting to know what the small vertical fin above the tail stinger (#35) is all about; it’s on the mock-up used for the advertising film also, though it’s so small it almost looks like its only purpose is to house a taillight rather than have any aerodynamic effect.
Very cool. Thanks for posting this (along with all your other fascinating material).
By chance do you have the notes corresponding with the numbers? I’m guessing that you’d have included them if you did, but hope springs eternal.
… wow!