Boeing had some elegant designs, still does. Got the fuselage right on the 707, for sure, since it's still in production.
However, some features, while very well executed by Boeing, are hardly exlusive -- thin, swept wings are a German innovation, so are pylon mounted engines (although not as marked as the Boeing designs), and the pylon is far less for service access than to get the engine out of the air flow on the wing -- especially at low speeds, having the engine suck air backwards off the wing surface really interferes with lift! Russian and European designers were rather slow to pick up on this fact -- most of their early designs had the engines buried in the wing root (DH Comet, Vampire Bombers, and TU 104s, the civilian version of the bomber). The B-47 was definitely an experimental aircraft, though, as not all these ideas worked out well: grossly underpowered, very short range due to excessive fuel consumption (straight turbojets, after all), nasty flying characteristics, and way too many landing accidents. The B-52 was much better, although the Tupolev Bear outperforms it in most areas. Peter _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
