Finally figured that one out, talking about the landing gear, (every time it kneels, it blows something)
My thoughts too. I guess either one would work. In retrospect I remember hearing about the C-5 kneeling but always getting stuck in the down position.
A somewhat different take - what does the SP stand for on the designation B747SP? Hint - not very endearing
The SP stood for Special Performance. And it was the fastest jet transport ever. My wife and I were on one that was an hour late from leaving Heathrow. The pilot came on and said" Don't worry folks about making a connection, this airplane can and will make it up." It did just that. We arrived at Seattle on time at 1100 hours.
B-24 it was. They sang a song to the tune of Strawberry Roan.....' Oh that B-24, Oh that ground luvin' whore........." With a full load that thing was scary on take off.
TFX LBJ's F-111 I worked on that proposal and learned about political SUCTION on that one. Gen Dynamics made all the mistakes that we threw out early in our studies....like the ramp vac intakes.
Mac Namarra's Folly fits the best because he, like in his Ford days, wanted one airplane to do everything the Navy, Air Force, Marines, and whoever wanted it , in one package. Under-weight for the Air Force, over-weight for the Navy and over-budget for everybody. AND then , it never performed to specs even after hiring Boeing engineers to bail out the mess that Gen Dynamics got itself in. BUT. It was built in LBJ's state of good ol'Texas and that's what REALLY counted. See. Nothing has changed in 40 years.I agree, too, it was an EDSEL.
My favorite comment about Texas was uttered by an Alaskan who was tired of the Texas BS. He told a mouthy Texan to shut up or they would split Alaska in half and Texas would be the third largest state. And then the story of an AT-7 during the war that reported in for landing instructions and that he had 300 passengers aboard. When the tower asked in astonishment how the hell they could get that many people aboard a 7 passenger airplane, the pilot answered, " No problem, nothing but a bunch of Texans with the Bull Sh....t kicked out of them."
It's called Design by Commitee and they've tried it with every plane since. There have been quite a few failures over the years to prove it. Business as usual. Government favoritism to the "Home State", same thing.
How about this for another "do-everything" aircraft? The model is not mine: Image Unavailable, Please Login
