Burnelli RB-1
The Remington Burnelli RB- 1 was a double-decker passenger plane the U.S. Remington - Burnelli from the 1920s. The aircraft had developed by Vincent Burnelli unconventional interpretation as a buoyant hull ( lifting fuselage ).
History
After the first very conventional designs, developed Burnelli in the years 1915 to 1919, he turned to in the 1920s, the new idea of the buoyant hull. The basic idea was that a correspondingly shaped hull can contribute up to 50% to the total lift, coupled with a gain in safety and performance.
1920 Burnelli teamed up with TT Remington to start the airliners Engineering Corporation in New York. The company should build its first new draft RB -1. About the date of the first flight is not known.
The flight behavior of the prototype (registration: 9182 ) was considered acceptable, except was a very pronounced instability. The first RB-1 was 1923 in Staten Iceland, New York lost after a storm she sat under water ( salt), and the machine was declared to be not repairable.
Within a year, then a second machine was built that differed in little things in the chassis, the cab windows and the reduced rudder area from the first copy. As engines two Liberty -XII- engines were installed, each with 420 hp. It was probably this machine, which was designated in 1924 as the RB -2 and probably also received the engines from the discontinued first machine. The RB- 2 should have been the first cargo aircraft in the world.
Construction
Particularly striking was the unconventionally designed hull that was designed seen in longitudinal section profile shape. The nose was so wide that two engines could be installed without overlapped the propeller circles.
The body had a uniform width over the entire length. In the longitudinal section of the hull ran towards the rear to an almost razor sharp edge back out. The total lifting surface of the hull was 47 m2 ( 504 ft2 ). Although the parasitic resistance of engine nacelles was turned off by the motor assembly, but turned the other by the side by side running propeller, a mutual shielding effect ( blanketing ) a. In addition, the advantages of this design concept are greatly reduced by the aerodynamically unfavorable air flow around the stern.
The hull of the RB-1 was based on three transverse plywood enclosures and with corrugated duralumin ( a light metal alloy ) cladding. The two pilots were housed in open cockpits, while the center fuselage section contained the spacious cabin for 32 passengers. The wings were at the RB-1 the usual at this time structure of a fabric -covered wood lattice work.
RB -2 had basically the same structure, however, the wings were also planked with duralumin. The 5.50 m × 4.30 m ( 18 ft × 14 ft ) wide passenger cabin could accommodate 25 passengers, alternatively, it could be a cargo bay with a payload of 2700 kg ( 6000 lb) to be converted. The crew consisted then of three men.
Since the hull for about 50 % of the total buoyancy provided, the span could be about 30 % smaller than comparable standard aircraft with the same payload. Also, the fuel consumption is said to be 20 % lower, which allowed, among other things, to stay in the air for up to 36 hours.
Use
The RB -2 was able to transport their particular skills in 1925 at a sales tour for an Essex car model demonstrated by two examples of this car were transported together in the machine. The aircraft could also be used as exhibition space because of the size of the cargo space ( Flying Showroom ). Probably the RB -2 was equipped at this time with two 650 hp payable Rolls-Royce Condor engines. The machine was later sold to the Aerial Transport Company and still flew eight more years before it was scrapped.
Advantages of buoyancy hull concept
Hereinafter, the advantages of the lifting fuselage concept in comparison with the former standard aircraft are summarized: