Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship

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The Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship, a 5,000-ton ground effect vehicle concept Aerocon Dash 1-6 wingship.jpg
The Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship, a 5,000-ton ground effect vehicle concept

The Aerocon Dash-1.6 wingship was a proposed American ground-effect vehicle intended to carry large cargos and thousands of passengers over long distances at near-aircraft speeds.

Contents

The vehicle was claimed to be able to carry a combination of 1,500 short tons (1,400 t; 3,000,000 lb; 1,400,000 kg) of cargo and 2,000 passengers a distance of 11,500 miles (18,500 km; 10,000 nmi) at speeds close to those of commercial airliners. [1]

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) evaluated the Aerocon design, along with submissions from several other manufacturers, as part of a preliminary study of the concept during the 1990s to determine whether a billion-dollar program was viable, to develop a wingship for military uses. [2] [3] [4] By the end of 1994, the Department of Defense decided that the design was too high a risk and did not offer further funding. [5]

Specifications

Data from W. I.: Technology Roadmap, Appendix C - Structures, page C-4C-6

General characteristics

Performance

See also

References

Notes

  1. Frederick, Donald (19 September 1993). "Giant Soviet airship could evolve into cruise ship or winged hospital: Aviation: The 540-ton Caspian Sea Monster would be reborn as a 5,000-ton 'wingship' if one American has his way. The original, built in '60s, crashed in '70s". Los Angeles Times. National Geographic. p. A11. ISSN   0458-3035. OCLC   474112039. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  2. "Wingtip Investigation Volume 3: Technical roadmap", Advanced Research Project Agency, September 30, 1994.
  3. W. I.: Final Report, Chapter 2 - Introduction, page 2-1 – 2-2
  4. Evers, Stacey (August 22, 1994). "U.S. wingship pursuit keyed to ARPA study" . Aerospace Daily. Aviation Week & Space Technology. Vol. 141, no. 8. pp. 55–56. ISSN   0005-2175. OCLC   41598016.
  5. Lardner, Richard (December 22, 1994). "Smaller vehicles may be worth pursuing: DOD study: Technical, cost risks of large wingships outweigh advantages". Inside the Pentagon. Vol. 10, no. 51. Inside Washington Publishers. pp. 1, 8–9. ISSN   2164-814X. JSTOR   43992627. OCLC   13302463.
  6. Flynn, Barry (February 15, 1992). "Winged ship could airlift 2,000 troops". Local. The Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. A1. OCLC   37397036.
  7. Lardner, Richard (December 13, 1993). "Aircraft could carry 2,000 troops: Wingship touted as best way to get future army to far-off hot spots". Inside the Army. 5 (50): 14–16. ISSN   2164-8182. JSTOR   43975735. OCLC   839737692.

Bibliography