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Aircraft ottomans
Eliminate the weight of landing gear in passenger aircraft so fuel savings can be invested in passenger amenities. | |
Replace this otherwise dead weight with a necessarily
elaborate system of
wheeled, and to an extent, telescoping ottomans for aircraft
landings and take-offs.
The same ottoman a plane lands upon stays with the aircraft
on the ground and is used for taxi and take-off later. The
ottoman
is returned to circulation.
Reducing the weight reduces the fuel consumption
yada yada yada...
Airlines can invest their savings in creature comforts
such as leg room, irresistible reclining seats and a more
humane allotment of personal space for each passenger.
With landing gear out of the way, aircraft can then evolve to
the next echelon of creature features by having select
leisure
flights using planes with state-of-the-art in engineering
"glass
bottom" hulls.
Re-inventing the flying workhorse for the benefit of the
weary passneger, wheel at a time.
(?) "Fireflash" still
http://members.fort...ireflash/fire11.jpg
From the Thunderbirds episode auto mentions. It was a rescue mission, when the craft's landing gear was destroyed. [waugsqueke, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
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Annotation:
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Sorry, but the combination of eliminating landing gear and having glass-bottomed planes for some reason made me think of a Flintstones car-type plane.
"This is your Captain speaking - we are now approaching Heathrow Airport. Passengers are advised to extinguish all cigarettes, switch off mobile phones and start running really quickly."
or
"Good evening ladies and germs. I just flew in from New York, and boy are my feet sore..." |
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// otherwise dead weight of self-contained landing gear // |
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No thanks. If the plane I'm on should ever have to land somewhere other than the designated airport, I want it to be landing gear equipped. |
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Rods, did you mean something like an ottoman umpire?
Oh, I think you did... |
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U-2s (and a few other aircraft) have wheeled stems on their wingtips that fall off on take off. If I'm not mistaken, early ship-launched aircraft were set in a cradle that would fall away or remain with the ship once the plane took off. If I'm furthermore not mistaken, the planes were seaplanes (with pontoons) and the cradles afforded them wheels. |
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Both, to a certain extent. The system accomodates
comfortable margins. Luggage can be loaded in
compartments directly below your own seat. You can
watch your luggage
through the entire flight. Just bend over a little further. |
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// "plenty of slop built in"?// |
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I would never use such language. In Finishing class, I was
taught the proper
way to cut with my acetylene torch... |
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Once I cut a fish skeleton from 1/4" plate. How
apropos... |
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[autosurgeon], honestly, if there has been anything like
this, it is news to me. This idea was my mind's way of
putting off studying for an exam. |
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[TL], heh. I always forget. Is the acetylene torch the one closest to the plate or is that the plasma cutter? |
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auto, found a still image of that Fireflash episode (my favorite). F.A.B.! |
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Who resets all the ottomans (ottomen? ottopersons?) after each landing? I'll stick to planes with wheels, thank you very much... |
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[half], there's nothing to it. Work in from the outside, from
general to specialized. Clamps on the left; locking-C,
sheet, then welding. On the right; acetylene then plasma
cutters. For special occasions, serve MIG and TIG on the
charger and remember: |
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"The striker always goes at the top with the bun!" |
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[waugsqueke], I enjoyed the link you added for [Ff]. I
notice how the aircraft's profile
reflects the
separate teams of engineers and their differing schools of
thought... :b |
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