What happened to the plan of the airline of Boeing? – Jalopnik

To say that the Boeing 747 has changed the aviation industry, there is a huge understatement. More than twice as large as an aircraft in front, the Queen of the air transformed the commercial aviation completely, causing air travel for the middle class to unlock. After half a century in the air, the service of the Jumbo Liner in the commercial space finally reached its Twilight era, with only a handful of airlines and shipping companies that still control the beast.

But with the aircraft that serves as Air Force one and is modified in a “Doomsday” control center for nuclear war, the 747 still has a lot of life with the American army. Previous proposals have hoped to expand the usefulness of the aircraft within the Air Force, with the hope of transforming the jet into a tank tanker, a cruise rocket platform and even a rocket -cutting weather platform, with a huge laser attached to his nose.

However, there is one concept for the 747, which really stands out like no other. Released Boeing/US Air Force Documents show studies to transform the plane into an aircraft carrier in the air. The aircraft carrier in the air may seem like a concept directly from Hollywood, but Boeing believed that if they are properly executed, their 747 could bring their air superiority anywhere in a few hours.

This was not the first time that the concept of a flying carrier played. In the 1940s, B-36 bombers tried to use a wing of escort hunters, with plans to wear a maximum of three specially built XF-85 cobolders. But these “parasite hunters” struggled to moor with the mother ship because of the turbulent air that the B-36 generated, with one pilot who hit his canopy during an attempt. The disadvantages seemed to weigh enormously heavier than the pros and the project was canceled in 1949.

So why did the Air Force collected the pen again in 1973? The newest plane of the era, such as the C-5 cargo plane of 747 and Lockheed, introduced new possibilities. Where older prototypes simply held the plane, Jumbo Jets had the space to refuel and accommodate on board, a carrier for the air.

Boeing’s study from 1973 showed that the hull could be under pressure with a maximum of 10 microfighters. Boom Arms would move the hunter to one of the two implementation air snails and launch the hunter from his belly. With pilots on Stand -By predicted Boeing that two microfighters could go from storage to the air in about 80 seconds. “Landing” could be the reversal of the process, whereby crews can be redefined and refueled in 10 minutes.

Even with 10 hunters on board, Boeing found room to store fuel, armament and spare parts, as well as sleeping quarters and a lounge. It would contain 44 crew members: 12 Carrier Crew, 14 pilots and 18 mission specialists.

Boeing proved that a modern flying carrier was possible, but the Air Force never pulled the tractor over the design and the aircraft carrier in the air never achieved the study of 74 pages. There was no doubt that the 747 was able to wear 10 hunters, but the possibilities of the air wing on board had the Air Force. Boeing promised these microfighters to at least match the performance of the Soviet MIG-21. But the Air Force looked at how quickly war zones evolved in the 60s and 70s and knew that these small aircraft would probably be persuaded on the way by the newer 4th-gene hunters.

For those of you who still hope for a flying wearer, it is more than likely that we will see one in the near future. The Gremlins project of DARPA is intended to transform C-130s into flying carriers, able to use swarms of unmanned drones. For the ACE fighting fans, think less P-1112 Aigion and more Arsenal Bird.