[InterceptPoint]

Quite an airplane(s).

[Noumenon]

Do I sense Burt Rutan’s hand in this somewhere?

[texas booster]

Over the next few days, each of the plane’s six fuel tanks will be filled independently to make sure that the tanks are properly sealed and that the fueling mechanisms work, Stratolaunch said.

Then the tanks will be drained, and the aircraft will be returned to its hangar for weight and balance testing. Over the months ahead, the plane’s systems will undergo further checks in preparation for taxi tests, flight operations and airworthiness testing....

The plane, built in partnership with Mojave-based Scaled Composites, is mostly made of carbon composite. Key elements of the craft, including its six engines and eight sets of landing gear, were taken from Boeing 747 jets.

The Stratolaunch plane’s 385-foot wingspan makes it the world’s widest airplane.

Reusing parts from the 747 makes sense, but I am a bit surprised that they are using the 747 engines. I thought that they were not efficient enough for modern planes.

[Sirius Lee]

Quite an airplane(s).

Not new, just biggerrer.