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- convair880mfan
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Would the Lockheed L-500 have been a good airliner?
Would the civil version of the C-5 aircraft have made a good wide body airliner? I realize that with a smaller wing sweep than the Boeing 747 it was probably limited in cruise speed.
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- Starlionblue
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Re: Would the Lockheed L-500 have been a good airliner?
While a high wing is great for a military airlifter because of the operating environment, frequently to less than ideal fields, it has significant disadvantages.
- Additional weight because you have to transfer loads a much longer distance between the wing box/spars and the landing gear.
- Wing box sticks through the cabin in an awkward position, cutting into useable space.
This pretty much explains why Boeing took their C-5 competitor work and used it for a clean sheet 747 design instead of modifying the aircraft into an airliner. None of the 747 proposals were high winged, though one was mid winged.
- Additional weight because you have to transfer loads a much longer distance between the wing box/spars and the landing gear.
- Wing box sticks through the cabin in an awkward position, cutting into useable space.
This pretty much explains why Boeing took their C-5 competitor work and used it for a clean sheet 747 design instead of modifying the aircraft into an airliner. None of the 747 proposals were high winged, though one was mid winged.
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- GalaxyFlyer
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Re: Would the Lockheed L-500 have been a good airliner?
No, it only seated 73 passengers. Lockheed would have have done a complete redesign as Boeing did. Great military airlifted, esp with modern engines, but uncertifiable as designed and built for a number of reasons.
The wing box doesn’t intrude on the cargo deck because it neatly divides the upper deck in half, can’t go forward to troop except by going downstairs.
The wing box doesn’t intrude on the cargo deck because it neatly divides the upper deck in half, can’t go forward to troop except by going downstairs.
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