Invisible Themepark

Tag: Aircraft

Cutaway views of aircraft.

  • French Leduc 021 Experimental Ramjet Cutaway, 1956

    French Leduc 021 Experimental Ramjet Cutaway, 1956

    Where’s the pilot?  Well, maybe it’s not a plane.  Maybe it’s a missile of some sort.  But then, where’s the warhead?

    You’re looking at a G.H. Davis cutaway drawing, 1956, of a Leduc 021 ramjet aircraft.  No pilot, no warhead.

    The Leduc 021 was carried up by a Languedoc airliner, Space Shuttle-style, and then released.  The Leduc’s maximum ceiling was 65,000.

    The reason for this unusual launch was because the Leduc used a ramjet instead of a rotary compresser (like you see on passenger jets) to force (i.e., ram) the much-needed air into the engine.  The jet had to build up a certain minimum airspeed in order for the jet to fire.

    Click to Enlarge to 894 x 755 px:

    French Leduc 021 Experimental Ramjet Cutaway, 1956

  • French Baroudeur SE 5000 Fighter Jet Cutaway, 1956

    A nice G.H. Davis cutaway (note “France” added just above his signature) of a French Baroudeur SE-5000.

    See the landing gear on the Baroudeur?  No?  That’s because the Baroudeur (roughly translated to “adventurer”) is leaving its landing gear behind on the ground.  That’s right, the SE-5000 carried no gear, instead relying on a wheeled trolley to assist its takeoff.  It landed on grassy fields on skids.  This cutaway drawing shows the skids retracted.

    Developed for NATO, this lightweight fighter, with a range of 1,500 miles, never entered production.

    Enlarge to 1560 x 712 px:

    French Baroudeur SE 5000 Fighter Jet 1956

    Source:  Popular Mechanics May 1956

  • DeHavilland Comet Cutaway, 1950

    The Comet was quite a big deal when it was unveiled in 1950.  Both Popular Mechanics (Popular Mechanics’ deHavilland Comet Cutaway) and Popular Science pulled out all “cutaway stops” to feature this luxurious liner of the skies.

    Here, illustrator Jo Kotula tips the Comet to an angle rarely seen in aircraft cutaways.

    Source:  Popular Science May 1950

  • Aircraft Carrier Steam Catapult Cutaway, 1953

    Aircraft Carrier Steam Catapult, 1953

    Pictured is a 1953 cutaway of the planned HMS Perseus, showing the novel introduction of a steam catapult to replace the customary cylinder, ram, pulley, and wire catapults.

    The plane is hooked to a long, slotted cylinder.  High pressure steam is released from the ship’s boilers into the cylinder.

    As of the date of that article, only test planes and concrete weights had been launched.  But these test “flights” were highly successful.  One unpiloted test plane was flung to 1,500 feet and circled the ship for four minutes while everyone ran for cover.  Finally, its tanks ran dry and the plane fell into the sea.

    Source: Popular Mechanics March 1953

  • British DeHavilland Comet Passenger Jet, 1950

     

    In 1950, easy passenger jet travel was still a dream that could excite the public.  The deHavilland Comet was still in its infancy when, for a test flight, it flew from London to North Africa, a distance of 3,000 miles, at a top speed of 450 miles per hour.

    See Another Cutaway View of a Comet, 1950

    The Comet was designed for maximum passenger (and crew) comfort and safety, with feature unheard of in today’s jets:  separate room for hats and coats, gender-segregated washrooms, a dinghy stored in the wing, a First Class front cabin, large galley, and a room for stewardesses.

    The Comet officially took off for regular passenger service on May 2, 1952.  But the Comet was not destined for great things.  Within only a year, the deHavilland Comet first crashed, a victim of metal fatigue.  The accident in Karachi, Pakistan, which killed 11 people, bestowed a new distinction on the Comet:  the first passenger jetliner crash resulting in fatalities.

    Click to Enlarge to 1526 x 700 px:

    British DeHavilland Comet Passenger Jet, 1950

    Popular Mechanics:  April 1950

Exit mobile version