I THOUGHT GM WAS OWNED BY CHINA NOW TOMMY??

IF NOT IT SOME WILL BE. PULL UP YOUR SOCKS DOWN THERE OR WE WILL BE LIVING BESIDE SOME THIRD WORLD NATION SOON.

 

Occasionally, derision is placed upon American ability by some members.

It has only taken 57 years for the world to catch up on some things Americans have done.

A major restoration job has been carried out and one can be seen at Edwards Air Force Base.

Jimbert

 

 

 

 

Contemporary magazine article about the Convair Model 37:

No one knows when or where the legend of Pegasus first became popular. Nor does the date really matter. For as long as history records, men of the world have seen the flying beast of burden as the epitome of mortal ambition. Now Consolidated-Vultee has come forward with a single vehicle which moves through the air on the power of 30,000 winged horses-to prove conclusively that the sky alone is the limit where practical airplane size is concerned.

That the recently announced Model 37 is far and away the largest flying machine on the immediate post-war docket is obvious. Although size alone does not spell greatness in aviation, it is interesting to note that the single slender wing of the Model 37 would outreach a 21-story building if upended on a metropolitan street corner. Similarly, the single fin and rudder stands approximately five stories above the runway. Twice as large as the Consolidated-Vultee Liberator, the Model 37 has a wing span of 230 feet and measures 182 feet in length. Nearly ten Piper Cubs could be parked in the tarmac space occupied by a single Model 37.

Actually this new transport is something more than a very large airplane, with external lines and internal design unlike anything previously offered to the commercial airline operators of the world. It has, first of all, six engines buried in the wing to match the largest pre-war German, French and Russian commercial types in number of engines. Unlike the latter types, however, the Model 37 carries the engines in the trailing edge of the wing and becomes the first pusher type likely to see commercial service. Because the Model 37 is derived from a new Consolidated design, all information on power plants is necessarily restricted at the present time. However, the manufacturer has announced total power output equal to that of 353 automobiles-approximately 30,000 hp if we accept 85 hp as the average for American motor cars. It would be possible to obtain this output in one of two ways. The Model 37 may have a pair of inline engines in each nacelle, with a long uni-twin head and shaft driving the three-blade propellers. Or it may be fitted with individual engines each developing 5,000 hp for take-off. The former would seem impractical in the light of Consolidated's thin wing with maximum camber inadequate for accommodation of the Allison 3420, the only announced inline, which develops more than 2,500 hp. It is possible that wartime ingenuity has brought radial engines which develop considerably more than the 3,000 hp announced some time ago. However, air-cooled engines, never too successful in pusher mountings, could hardly obtain sufficient cooling on the ground while buried in the Model 37 wing. So this sky gargantua is probably powered by either a gas turbine or a diesel engine of 5,000 hp efficiency-a remarkable power plant if it exists.

In operation, the Model 37 follows a performance pattern which is more Or less general in projected multi-engine transports, although its load is obviously greater than that of the Boeing Stratocruiser, the Douglas DC-7, the Lockheed Constellation, and the Martin Mars. Cruising at speeds between 310-342 mph, the big ship will carry a payload of 50,000 pounds composed of 204 passengers and seven and one-half tons of mail or express. Operating above the weather at 30,000 feet, the Model 37 is designed for a range of 4,200 miles with the previously-mentioned load. A double-deck interior will embrace two-passenger staterooms, oversize berths, two lounges, and a number of rest rooms, with Henry Dreyfuss interiors assuring color and comfort for passengers on the long over-water routes.

Model 37 Cancellation

The intended powerplant for the Model 37 was a 5,000 horsepower gas turbine engine which failed to materialize. The fuel and oil consumption of the 3,500 horsepower R-4360 radial engines made the design unprofitable. In addition, it was felt that the airplane provided too much capacity for the level of airline traffic that was forecast at the time.

Imagine what post-war airline travel would have been like if the Allison T-56 turbo-prop had been available at the time. Today, there would still be huge Model 37s carrying oversize cargo for Heavylift, dropping vast quantities of retardent on forest fires, and rotting on the backside of the Mojave Airport.

 

 

 

Giant Airplanes of the 1940s
	First Flight	Wing Span	Length	Wing Area	Gross Weight	Engines
Bristol Brabazon	1949	230ft,00in	177ft,00in	5,317	290,000	8 x 2,650hp Bristol Centaurus
Hughes Flying Boat	1947	320ft,00in	218ft,06in	11,430	300,000	8 x 3,500hp R4360
Convair XC-99	1947	230ft,00in	185ft,00in	4,772	320,000	6 x 3,500hp R4360
Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing	1947	172ft,00in	53ft,01in	4,000	194,000	8 x 3,700 lb J-35
Convair B-36	1946	230ft,00in	162ft,01in	4,772	370,000	6 x 3,500hp R4360, 4 x 5,200 lb J-47
Lockheed R6V Constitution	1946	189ft,01in	156ft,01in	3,610	184,000	4 x 3,000hp R4360
Douglas DC-6	1946	117ft,06in	100ft,07in	1,463	97,200	4 x 2,100 hp R2800
Douglas C-74 Globemaster	1945	173ft,03in	124ft,02in	2,506	145,000	4 x 3,000hp R4360
Blohm und Voss BV-238	1945	197ft,05in	142ft,8in	3,930	176,400	6 x BMW 801
Boeing 367 Stratocruiser	1944	141ft,03in	110ft,04in	1,738	120,000	4 x 3,000hp R4360
Lockheed 049 Constellation	1943	123ft,00in	95ft,02in	1,650	86,200	4 x 2,000 hp R3350
Martin JRM Mars	1942	200ft,00in	117ft,00in	3,683	144,000	4 x 2,000 hp R3350
Douglas DC-4	1942	117ft,06in	93ft,10in	1,460	73,000	4 x 1,350 hp R2000
Douglas XB-19	1941	212ft,00in	132ft,00in	4,492	164,000	4 x 2,000 hp R3350
Tupolev Ant-20bis	1940	206ft,08in	111ft,11in	5,231	99,200	6 x 1,200 hp M-34FRNV
Blohm und Voss BV-222	1940	150ft,11in	120ft	2,744	108,000	6 x 1,000 hp BMW-Bramo Fafnir 323R

 

Bloody spoil sports!!

Jimbert

 

 

Other than bragging rights I don't see why this was built we hear all of the time over here how airlines are buying smaller planes so they can spread out their departure times, to attract more customers. I can see it for LA - Australia or NY - London routes but doubt it'll ever do LA - NY. But I do remember that here in Houston it and the 787 were mentioned as reasons that runways had to be lengthened.

 

As to SA they need better soundproofing.

To comply with legislation they'r building a third deck with a Gay Bar, and it is illegal to call the flight deck the cockpit.

Hobbs, that is because they realized they made a huge mistake with the Concorde & bigger is better.  It's the American way ya know & they finally got it.

 

T-Dog

 

If  Houston had a runway that would be too short for the 787, then it would have been too short for most other airliners too.

The gay bar thing sure is a bummer, if it was included and I were the pilot I would definately rename the flight deck.

 

 

 I were the pilot I would definately rename the flight deck.

ref 19

 

To

The Super duper control room where I a Flying God will exercise my supernatural abilities and take you to a far off destination area.

 

An acronym might be needed.

As HP follows its usual descent from intellect to smut, young Hobbs at the helm

 

FIFA. Fondling Incoherent Female Aircrew.

 

Hobbs go pay these men lots of money and it's yours.