Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Unbelievable Beast


4 comments:

  1. Saunders-Roe SR.45 Princess. Only one to fly. Only three made.

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    1. 10 Proteus turboprop engines turning 10 4-bladed propellers. The inner 4 were pairs of contra-rotating props. If it was anything like the Tu-95 Bear, that would've beastly loud, so they must've had some hellacious sound insulation. 105 passengers in 2 full decks, carried in great comfort.

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  2. I can imagine all the associated problems that Hughes had with the "Hercules" bundled into this one as well....imagine wrangling those control surfaces in a strong crosswind....of course, being a seaplane, one would hope to always lands into the wind....

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    1. That airplane probably had hydraulic assist like the C-130 as it debuted just two years earlier. As a former C-130 pilot, hydraulic assist made the controls much lighter than direct control. We did demonstrations of loss of hydraulics in the simulator. It was heavier than the one time I got some seat time in a B-17.

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