Turbojets gain horsepower with speed, since the compression ratio goes up considerably from ram effect. Getting on and off the ground was a different story -- like the B-52 the B47 takes a LONG runway (also true of the B-36, another seriously underpowered aircraft). Low speed handing of all the contemporary aircraft was horrible, so bad in fact that BOAC cancelled their order for the B-707 until the tail was re-designed. And you gotta slow down to drop bombs.
We built amazing numbers of aircraft back during the height of the cold war, and actually used single purpose aircraft, too. No one wants to pay enough taxes to do that now. And remember, the B-58 "Hustler" was even faster (I remember it breaking windows everywhere locally making supersonic runs across the central US), but no one ever figured out how to put a bomb in it.... Peter On Aug 16, 2008, at 6:46 PM, larry turner wrote: > re: your comment <<B47 ...grossly underpowered>> > > My memory must be more faulty than I thought - on a recent Military > Channel > program called "Top 10 Bombers" they went thru the various designs > and when > they spoke of the B47 they said it was *very* fast - like a fighter > with 4 > engines so fast in fact that when F86s would come up to give chase > in mock > interceptions they rarely were able to catch the B47. > > It looked like a early B52 design with the cockpit stuck on top of the > fuseloge like a P51D cockpit but for more then 1 person. and the > engines > hanging down on long pylons slightly forward - > > Checked wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-47_Stratojet it says > it flew > at high subsonic speeds - but I guess it could fly at that speed > and still > be considered underpowered - and it > all subject to interpretation. > ;-) > > Larry > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Peter Frederick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Mercedes Discussion List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2008 3:04 PM > Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - EV > > >> 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 >> >> >> -- >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG. >> Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.6.4 - Release Date: >> 8/16/2008 12:00 >> AM >> >> > > > _______________________________________ > 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 _______________________________________ 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
