| Cloudster II | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Light aircraft |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| First flight | March 12, 1947 |
| Status | Prototype only |
| Number built | 1 |
The Douglas Cloudster II was an American prototype five-seat light aircraft of the late 1940s. It was of unusual layout, with two buried piston engines driving a single pusher propeller. Only a single example was built, which flew only twice, as it proved too expensive to be commercially viable.
During the early 1940s, Douglas Aircraft Company developed a configuration for high-performance twin-engined aircraft, in which the engines were buried in the fuselage, driving propellers mounted behind a conventional tailplane, in order to reduce drag by eliminating drag inducing objects such as engines from the wing. This layout was first demonstrated in the Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster bomber, which first flew in 1944, showing a 30% reduction in drag compared with a conventional twin-engined layout, while eliminating handling problems due to asymmetric thrust when flying on one engine. [1] [2]
Owing to the initial success of the XB-42, Douglas adopted this promising new layout for a medium-range airliner, the DC-8 [3] and a five-seat light aircraft suitable for executive or air charter use, the Model 1015 or Cloudster II. [2] [4]
The Cloudster II was a low-winged monoplane with a retractable nosewheel undercarriage. The pilot and four passengers sat in an enclosed cabin well ahead of the unswept, laminar flow wing. Two air-cooled piston engines were buried in the rear fuselage, driving a single eight foot diameter twin-bladed propeller, mounted behind the empennage via driveshafts taken from P-39 fighters. Two air intakes forward of the wing directed cooling air to the engines, which then exhausted beneath the fuselage. [2] [5]
The Cloudster II made its maiden flight on March 12, 1947. Although the aircraft's performance and handling were good, it suffered from excessive vibration, and overheated when it was on the ground. Further development was abandoned late in 1947, with the prototype having flown only twice, as the post-war civil flying market had not developed as hoped, while the selling price had risen from an originally planned $30,000 to $68,000, rendering the aircraft commercially unviable. [2] [5] [6]
Data from McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920 [2]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
The Göppingen Gö 9 was a German research aircraft built to investigate the practicalities of powering a plane using a pusher propeller located far from the engine and turned by a long driveshaft.
The Kyūshū J7W Shinden was a World War II Japanese propeller-driven prototype fighter with wings at the rear of the fuselage, a nose-mounted canard, and pusher engine.
The Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster was an experimental bomber aircraft, designed for a high top speed. The unconventional approach was to mount the two engines within the fuselage driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers mounted at the tail in a pusher configuration, leaving the wing and fuselage clean and free of drag-inducing protrusions.
The Northrop YB-35, Northrop designation N-9 or NS-9, were experimental heavy bomber aircraft developed by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Army Air Forces during and shortly after World War II. The airplane used the radical and potentially very efficient flying wing design, in which the tail section and fuselage are eliminated and all payload is carried in a thick wing. Only prototypes and pre-production aircraft were built, although interest remained strong enough to warrant further development of the design as a jet bomber, under the designation YB-49.
The Douglas Y1B-7 was a 1930s American bomber aircraft. It was the first US monoplane given the B- 'bomber' designation. The monoplane was more practical and less expensive than the biplane, and the United States Army Air Corps chose to experiment with monoplanes for this reason. At the time the XB-7 was ordered, it was being tested by Douglas Aircraft as an observational plane.
The Nakajima G8N Renzan was a four-engine long-range bomber designed for use by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Navy designation was "Type 18 land-based attack aircraft" (十八試陸上攻撃機); the Allied code name was "Rita".
The Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster is an American 1940s jet-powered prototype bomber. The XB-43 was a development of the XB-42, replacing the piston engines of the XB-42 with two General Electric J35 engines of 4,000 lbf (17.8 kN) thrust each. Despite being the first American jet bomber to fly, it suffered stability issues and the design did not enter production.
The Tachikawa Ki-70 "Clara" was a high speed photo reconnaissance aircraft that was tested for the Japanese Air Force in prototype form but never entered production. The Ki-70 was the intended successor to the Mitsubishi Ki-46 but was difficult to handle and was slower than the Mitsubishi Ki-46. The Ki-70 was first flown in 1943 but was found unsatisfactory and the program was terminated. Three aircraft were built.
The Douglas C-1 was a cargo/transport aircraft produced by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation for the United States Army Air Service starting in 1925.
The SAI-Ambrosini SS.4 was an Italian fighter prototype developed in the late 1930s, featuring a canard-style wing layout and a pusher propeller. Development of the SS.4 was abandoned after the prototype crashed on its second flight.
The Douglas Cloudster was a 1920s American biplane aircraft. It was the only product of the Davis-Douglas Company, and was designed to make the first non-stop flight coast-to-coast across the United States.
The Grahame-White Ganymede was a prototype British heavy night bomber intended to serve with the Royal Air Force in the First World War. A large, three-engined, twin-boom biplane, the sole prototype Ganymede did not fly until after the war had ended, and although an attempt was made to convert the aircraft to an airliner, it was unsuccessful.
The Lockheed Model 34 Big Dipper was an American two-seat monoplane, designed and built by Lockheed at Burbank for research into the company's potential entry into the civil lightplane and military light utility aircraft market. Only one was built, and following its loss in an accident the program was abandoned.
The Stout Skycar was a series of four one-off American light aircraft of the 1930s.
The Douglas DC-8 was an American piston-engined airliner project by Douglas Aircraft. A concept developed more than a decade before the DC-8 jetliner, the piston-engined DC-8 was to have propellers in the tail, an idea first used at Douglas by Edward F. Burton on a fighter project. The airliner project was canceled after development costs made it commercially unviable.
The Douglas XT-30 was a proposed American military advanced trainer. It was never built.
The Waco Model W Aristocraft was an American four-seat monoplane, the last aircraft designed and built by the Waco Aircraft Company. It had an unusual configuration with an engine mounted at the front driving a pusher propeller at the rear.
The Mitsubishi J4M Senden or Navy Experimental 17-Shi Otsu B Type Interceptor Fighter Senden, Allied reporting name Luke, was a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft proposed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for use by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The J4M project did not proceed beyond the design stage.
The Mansyū Ki-98,, was a Japanese ground-attack aircraft proposed by Mansyū during World War II for use by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. The still unassembled components of the first prototype were deliberately destroyed before Japan surrendered.
The Douglas Model 423 was a bomber aircraft design developed by American aircraft manufacturer Douglas to compete with the Convair B-36 design for a major U.S. Army Air Force contract for an intercontinental bomber in 1941. Although identified as the Douglas XB-31 in some publications, the project documents indicate that it was designed much later than the R40-B competition.
