Post by swamprat on Apr 14, 2019 15:26:26 GMT
Stratolaunch Flies World's Largest Plane for the First Time
By Tariq Malik, April 13, 2019
Roc is bigger than the Spruce Goose.
Stratolaunch, the private launch company founded by the late billionaire Paul Allen, has just flown the world's largest aircraft for the first time.
The massive airplane, which has a wingspan bigger than a football field and is designed to launch rockets from the air, took off on its maiden test flight from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, this morning (April 13).
"We all know Paul would have been proud to witness today’s historic achievement,” his sister Jody Allen, chair of Vulcan Inc. and trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust, said in a statement released by Stratolaunch today. "The aircraft is a remarkable engineering achievement, and we congratulate everyone involved.”
The flight, while not officially announced beforehand by Stratolaunch, was spotted by photographers at the airport, where the company has been conducting runway tests with the giant plane in recent months.
"It was surprising. In a way, I expected it to take longer," aerospace photographer Jack Beyer told Space.com after watching the plane's takeoff, adding that it almost felt anticlimactic. "And then I realized it was actually effortlessly in the air and was astounded." Beyer is posting his views of the Stratolaunch test on his Twitter and Instagram.
Watch flight: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFHAz4AG-no
By Tariq Malik, April 13, 2019
Roc is bigger than the Spruce Goose.
Stratolaunch, the private launch company founded by the late billionaire Paul Allen, has just flown the world's largest aircraft for the first time.
The massive airplane, which has a wingspan bigger than a football field and is designed to launch rockets from the air, took off on its maiden test flight from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, this morning (April 13).
"We all know Paul would have been proud to witness today’s historic achievement,” his sister Jody Allen, chair of Vulcan Inc. and trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust, said in a statement released by Stratolaunch today. "The aircraft is a remarkable engineering achievement, and we congratulate everyone involved.”
The flight, while not officially announced beforehand by Stratolaunch, was spotted by photographers at the airport, where the company has been conducting runway tests with the giant plane in recent months.
"It was surprising. In a way, I expected it to take longer," aerospace photographer Jack Beyer told Space.com after watching the plane's takeoff, adding that it almost felt anticlimactic. "And then I realized it was actually effortlessly in the air and was astounded." Beyer is posting his views of the Stratolaunch test on his Twitter and Instagram.
Watch flight: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFHAz4AG-no