Technology
Aeronautics /
USA
Stratolaunch
Airplane with the largest wings in the world makes second flight test
Stratolaunch
Reprodução/Stratolaunch
Gabriela Ramos
5/4/2021
Last Thursday, April 29, the world's largest aircraft, the Stratolaunch, carried out a 4-hour test flight in California. The aircraft has not yet defined a date to start operating.
Stratolaunch
Reprodução/Stratolaunch
The plane has six engines similar to those of the Boeing 747, making it possible to reach a speed of more than 850 km / h at altitudes of more than 11 thousand meters. In addition, the Stratolaunch can support a load of approximately 226 tonnes. It is considered the largest in the world when measured from the tip of one wing to the other: 117 meters in wingspan. The aircrft tail reaches 15 meter height.
This is the second test flight of the Stratolaunch, two years after the first, since in the meantime Scaled Composites, the company responsible for the project, has undergone a change of ownership.
Initially, the aircraft had been designed for space launches, carrying satellites between the wings and dropping at high altitudes, but currently it is expected to be used as a kind of "aircraft carrier" platform for lauching smaller craft.
Hyperlinks:
Gabriela Ramos
Gabriela is the latest addition to the editorial team of our website, having provided us with her solid background in editing, publishing and photography, and her interest and training in aviation history and historiography. His good taste and common sense and great cleverness and sagacity in the selection of themes and materials greatly enriched our vocabulary and narrative style. Gabriela brought unusual predicates and came to stay, helping to point the way of success of our portal.
   
|