[SandRat]

[dalereed]

Just reusing designs that have been around a long time.

[SW6906]

Ping!

[the invisib1e hand]

i'll be so glad when this "extraodinary popular delusion" -- the cult of environmentalism -- has passed and sanity has returned.

[Paleo Conservative]

If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.

[Darksheare]

Kermit Kruiser looks like the Sonic Cruiser redone..

[Mr. Jazzy]

What?!?!?


No "Ratso Rizzo Rider"?



How about the Lew Zeland Flying Fish?

[Names Ash Housewares]

Maybe they should have looked to the X-Men for inspiration instead of muppets.

[martin_fierro]

Then there's the "Fozzie."

Kermit: "Bear left."

Fozzie: "Right, frog."

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

* "Fozzie": Ultra-low fuel burn. The airplane is designed to cruise at a much reduced speed — 500 mph rather than the typical 600-plus mph of current jets. That would add an hour to the typical transcontinental flight.

If they made the plane more comfortable then they might have a winner.

Slightly more space for the same ticket price as the faster planes and they would sell seats.

[jebeier]

Automobiles, trucks, construction equipment, stationary power generators and motorcycles are all going to be required to have pollution controls within the next 5 years. Why are aircraft exempt?

The fact of the matter is your typical jetliner emits more smog-producing pollutants in one minute of operation that 1,000 modern automobiles will emit in a year. And yet we are beating our brains out making LEVs and ULEVs and SULEVs, while jet aircraft fly overhead, without a care.

[UNGN]

The Problem with Fozzie, the UDF is what I will call the B-17 problem.

It sounds like a B-17 when it flies over.

That may have been acceptable in 1944, but in 2006, no way.

UDF's are deader than than dead. They looked so good on paper....

[isthisnickcool]

Boeing finds Dick Rutan?

[Jotmo]

The "Open Rotor" design is very efficient and has been around for a long time. It's a very well known concept in the aviation industry. When I worked for McDonald Douglas in the late '80's they were trying to develop them for the MD-80 series aircraft. The called it UHB, for Ultra High Bypass.

Most commercial jet engines today are High Bypass variety where 80% or so of the thrust comes from the fan, and not the jet portion of the engine. The UHB was just the next logical progression. Get rid of the fan shroud which is restrictive and is installed only to control noise. But that was the big hang up, however. They are much louder than conventional turbofans, and could not meet the rather strict, in many cases, airport noise ordinances in most communities.

So we continue to pollute more so people who buy houses around airports and still hear the crickets chirp.

Ain't government wonderful?

[elkfersupper]

Obviously a technological advance.

Soon, we'll be seeing things like composting toilets.

[timestax]

[prophetic]

the optimum design is the Honeydew with a pair of canard winglets in the front just below the cockpit and move the jet engines to a little lower to blend on the body.

The Fozzie is a total joke of a design.

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

but where is the Animal design?

ANIMAL!

[Ichneumon]

[ovrtaxt]

So, where's the Animal? or the Miss Piggy? how bout the Great Gonzo, or the Dr. Floyd Pepper?

[sheik yerbouty]

Will they biodegrade at 40000 feet?