Little known / experimental aircraft

[wink]

Lower parts count, cheaper to buy by order(s) of magnitude, cheaper to operate by order(s) of magnitude, longer endurance (8 hrs), greater range, probably lots quieter for ISR portion of mission, super cool amphib variant can land on water.

Sales pitch-y web page

Aircraft Overview - Air Tractor® AT-802U

The AT-802U is the largest single-engine turboprop in the world, with a maximum gross weight of 16,000 pounds and an 8,000 pound (3.629 kg) payload capacity. Since it first flew in 1990 more than 770 AT-802 airframes have been produced in a variety of FAA certificated versions. It brings 8+...

802u.com

Don't forget, dispatch reliability. You helo bubbas know I am right. Helicopters are maintenance whores. How many helo's are required to generate the sortie rate of a 4 ship ATO, especially in an austere FOB, vs ship board. When push comes to shove, you can fly those ATs with bailing wire and speed tape repairs. Not so any helicopter I know.

The Forest Service used to use AH-1s in the lead fire attack role. They don't use helos for that mission any more. Why is that? Cost and reliability.

I am still not 100% on board this program, but the debate is worthwhile.

 

[phrogdriver]

Don't forget, dispatch reliability. You helo bubbas know I am right. Helicopters are maintenance whores. How many helo's are required to generate the sortie rate of a 4 ship ATO, especially in an austere FOB, vs ship board. When push comes to shove, you can fly those ATs with bailing wire and speed tape repairs. Not so any helicopter I know.

The Forest Service used to use AH-1s in the lead fire attack role. They don't use helos for that mission any more. Why is that? Cost and reliability.

I am still not 100% on board this program, but the debate is worthwhile.

Again, a much bigger deal for allies and security assistance.

There is a good place for this type of aircraft—with poorer allies. Possibly with AFSOC. Definitely NOT the USN and USMC.

We need more advanced aircraft, not fewer. To the extent we get expendable hardware, it’s going to be unmanned.

 

[Randy Daytona]

The PB-1 and PB-1W were the Navy’s version of the B-17 during WW2 and beyond. Used for maritime patrol, they had a massive increase in fuel quantity to have an endurance of 22+ hours.

List of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress variants - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[sevenhelmet]

The PB-1 and PB-1W were the Navy’s version of the B-17 during WW2 and beyond. Used for maritime patrol, they had a massive increase in fuel quantity to have an endurance of 22+ hours.

List of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress variants - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

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Did they run out of fuel or engine oil first?

 

[nittany03]

“We’re going to put you in the aircraft for a 22-hour flight, but this is VP, so we’ll still haze you if you use the toilet even once.”

 

[Randy Daytona]

Did they run out of fuel or engine oil first?

Good question- and it made me think of Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose. If you ever get the chance, you really need to go to McMinnville Oregon and tour it. First rate aviation museum.

The Spruce Goose had a wingspan of 320 feet and its tail flew 60 feet above the water. Each of the flying boat’s eight Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major 28-cylinder engines produced 3,000 horsepower and sucked down 100 gallons of fuel per hour. The powerplants each bathed in 32 gallons of oil flowing through four banks of seven cylinders; the engines had two spark plugs per cylinder for a total of 448 spark plugs. A separate 189-gallon oil reservoir is on the flight deck.

Inside the Spruce Goose

www.aopa.org

Looking down the Spruce Goose’s wing. The round shape to the left is the oil tank. At its thickest, the wing is 11 feet high, making it easy for a person to walk down the wing to tend to an engine in flight. [Courtesy: Meg Godlewski]

Inside the 'Spruce Goose' - FLYING Magazine

Howard Hughes' Flying Boat, the largest seaplane in the world, is on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

www.flyingmag.com

 

[sevenhelmet]

The B-29 "Doc" has an oil reservoir tank as well- the engines use multiple quarts of oil per hour, I forget how many exactly, but it's enough that they are sometimes more oil limited than fuel limited.

 

[VMO4]

The Curtis XF11C-3, and they still complained about getting stuck in Lemoore

 

[Griz882]

The Curtis XF11C-3, and they still complained about getting stuck in Lemoore



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What’s not to like about Lemoore with their modern facilities and fabulous night life?

 

[nittany03]

And a wonderful whiff of Eau de Cowshit . . .

 

[Austin-Powers]

The Curtis XF11C-3, and they still complained about getting stuck in Lemoore



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Did they have prospective aviators inquiring about selection and what are their odds selecting the Curtis?

 

[sevenhelmet]

What’s not to like about Lemoore with their modern facilities and fabulous night life?
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That's Lemoore? You can actually see the mountains- are you sure it's not China Lake?

 

[number9]

I saw this on Twitter. Never seen it before.

What on earth.

 

[sevenhelmet]

That's the Edgley Optica EA-7. A weird, niche airplane that only a mother could love. Based on the shape, I'd hazard a guess it's perf and lat-dir flying qualities are "interesting". With today's camera/targeting pods, I'd also submit it's a solution looking for a problem.

Found this article in Plane & Pilot online. Doesn't appear to have a paywall.

 

[taxi1]

I wonder if a battery-powered rim drive propulsor/fan (bleeding edge stuff) wouldn't make that a smart design. It ought to be quiet.