A double-deck aircraft has two decks for passengers; the second deck may be only a partial deck, and may be above or below the main deck. Most commercial aircraft have one passenger deck and one cargo deck for luggage and ULD containers , but a few have two decks for passengers, typically above or below a third deck for cargo.
45-569: The Lockheed R6V Constitution was a large, propeller-driven, double-decker transport aircraft developed in the 1940s by Lockheed as a long-range, high-capacity transport and airliner for the U.S. Navy and Pan American Airways . Only two of the aircraft were ever built, both prototypes. Although these two planes went into service with the Navy, the Constitution design ultimately proved underpowered and too large for practical airline use at
90-655: A U-1 , the Soviet designation for a Avro 504 trainer, which achieved about one hundred successful assisted takeoffs. Successful assisted takeoffs were also achieved on the Tupolev TB-1 . and Tupolev TB-3 Heavy Bombers. The official test of the Tupolev TB-1 in 1933 shortened the takeoff by 77% when using the rockets. Early experiments using rockets to boost gliders into the air were conducted in Germany in
135-406: A Z-Stoff catalytic compound. A parachute pack at the blunt-contour front of the motor's exterior housing was used to slow its fall after being released from the plane, so the system could be re-used. First experiments were held in 1937 on a Heinkel He 111 , piloted by test-pilot Erich Warsitz at Neuhardenberg , a large field about 70 kilometres east of Berlin , listed as a reserve airfield in
180-463: A distance of 2,460 mi (3,960 km). The pilot for the flight was Commander William Collins, USN and the copilots were Lieutenant Commander James W. Robinson, USN and Roy Wimmer, Lockheed engineering test pilot. Four days later, the ship was formally christened by Mrs. John L. Sullivan , wife of the Secretary of the Navy , at Washington National Airport . The first test flights revealed that
225-577: A main "fuel" to the T-Stoff monopropellant still destabilized with the Z-Stoff permanganate for ignition as the oxidizer, tripling the 109-500's thrust figure of 4.95 kN (at 14.71 kN/1,500 kgf) with a burn of 30 second duration. Due to the "hot" system's similar risks demanding similar special fueling and handling procedures to that of the Komet's 509A rocket motor, the 109-501 seems to have remained
270-514: A modified MiG-19 fighter, designated SM-30, launched from a special launcher, and using a nearly identical solid-fueled rocket booster design to that of the EF-84G, but of a much more powerful, 600 kN (64 short ton) thrust level. The F-100 and F-104 were also used for zero-length launch experiments, with similarly powerful drop-away booster units to the Soviets' SM-30 experiments. Also in
315-492: A non-stop transcontinental flight. On 3 February 1949, the aircraft flew 74 members of the press from Moffett Field to Washington National Airport . At the time, this was the largest number of people flown across the United States in a single flight. This flight inaugurated six months of regular service between Washington, D.C. and San Francisco . In 1949, Ship No. 2 made a Navy recruiting tour of 19 cities. The side of
360-540: A production Twin Bonanza or used in any instance other than factory test flights. The Boeing 727 had provision for Aerojet JATO assist for use in "hot and high" conditions, particularly at Mexico City and La Paz . A JATO option was available for the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner to increase take-off weight while maintaining one-engine inoperative climb requirements. In late 1980
405-469: A quartet mounted per airframe for use with the radical Bachem Ba 349 VTO rocket interceptor design in 1945, for its vertical launch needs. The strictly experimental, HWK 109-501 Starthilfe RATO system used a similar bi-propellant "hot" motor to that on the Me 163B Komet rocket fighter, adding a 20 kg mass of a combination of B-stoff hydrazine, mixed with "Br-stoff" ( ligroin hydrocarbon distillate) for
450-725: A simultaneous towplane function, meant to be greatly eased with the substitution of the trio of Bf 110s with a single example of the unusual, twin-fuselage Heinkel He 111Z purpose-designed five-engined towplane. The use of rocket-assisted takeoff methods became especially important late in the war when the lengths of usable runways were severely curtailed due to the results of Allied bombing. Their system typically used jettisonable, self-contained Walter HWK 109-500 Starthilfe ("takeoff-help"), also known as "Rauchgerät" – smoke generator, unitized liquid-fuel monopropellant rocket booster units whose engines driven by chemical decomposition of " T-Stoff ", essentially almost pure hydrogen peroxide , with
495-870: A strictly experimental design, only being used for the test flights of the Junkers Ju 287 V1 prototype jet bomber. In early 1939, the National Academy of Sciences in the United States provided $ 1,000 to Theodore von Kármán and the Rocket Research Group (including Jack Parsons , Frank Malina , Edward Forman and Apollo M. O. Smith ) at the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) to research rocket-assisted take-off of aircraft. This JATO research
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#1732783851049540-468: Is used interchangeably with the (more specific) term RATO , for rocket-assisted take-off (or, in RAF parlance, RATOG , for rocket-assisted take-off gear ). In 1927 the Soviet research and development laboratory Gas Dynamics Laboratory developed solid-propellant rockets to assist aircraft take-off and in 1931 the world's first successful use of rockets to assist take-off of aircraft were carried out on
585-685: The Boeing 314 Clipper and Short Sandringham , had two decks. Following World War II , the Stratocruiser , a partially double-decked derivative of the B-29 Superfortress , became popular with airlines around the world. The first full double-deck aircraft was the French Breguet Deux-Ponts , in service from 1953. The first partial double-deck jet airliner was the widebody Boeing 747 , in service from 1970, with
630-572: The Curtiss C-46 Commando , utilized the structural advantages of a cylinder for cabin pressurization , without the wasted space that would result from a single large cylinder of the same volume. The original contract from the Bureau of Aeronautics called for 50 Constitutions for a total price tag of $ 111,250,000. On VJ Day , however, the contract was scaled back to $ 27,000,000 for only two aircraft. The first Constitution, BuNo 85163,
675-459: The Model 389 and Model 489 airliners based on the Constitution, which would have accommodated up to 169 passengers. Neither of these "paper" projects received much interest from civil operators. The first Constitution was brought to Las Vegas , where it served as an enormous billboard for Alamo Airways, before being scrapped by Howard Hughes when he acquired the property. The second Constitution
720-560: The de Havilland DH 106 Comet , included a design provision to carry two hydrogen peroxide –powered de Havilland Sprite booster rockets intended to be installed for " hot and high " conditions from airports such as Khartoum and Nairobi. These were tested on thirty flights, but the de Havilland Ghost jet engines alone were considered powerful enough and some airlines concluded that rocket motors were impractical. Nevertheless, Sprite fittings were retained on production Comet 1s but were rendered unnecessary with subsequent engine upgrades. In
765-692: The 1920s ( Lippisch Ente ), and later both the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe introduced such systems in World War II . The British system used fairly large solid fuel rockets to shoot planes (typically the Hawker Hurricane ) off a small ramp fitted to the fronts of merchant ships, known in service as Catapult armed merchantmen (or CAM Ships) , in order to provide some cover against German maritime patrol planes. After firing,
810-492: The 1950s the JATO Junior was an attempt by Aerojet Engineering to introduce smaller JATO units to small commercial aircraft, but was blocked by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics. Aerojet claimed that the smaller JATO bottle, delivering 250 pounds of thrust for 12 seconds could help a light private plane, that normally requires almost 900 ft (270 m) of runway to clear a 50 ft (15 m) high obstacle, could do
855-519: The Navy's fleet of flying boats . Pan Am was involved in the study because such an aircraft had potential use as a commercial airliner. This transport would carry 17,500 lb (7,900 kg) pounds of cargo 5,000 miles (8,000 km) at a cruising altitude of 25,000 feet (7,600 m) and a speed greater than 250 mph (400 km/h). The aircraft would be fully pressurized and large enough so that most major components could be accessed and possibly repaired in flight. For instance, tunnels led through
900-410: The United States military operation plan Operation Credible Sport was intended to rescue hostages held by Iran using C-130 cargo planes modified with rocket engines to enable a very short take off and landing. The plan was canceled after an accident occurred during a test landing when the forward-facing JATO units designed to slow the aircraft fired before the downward-facing units (designed to cushion
945-493: The aircraft on a leisurely course to Muroc Air Force Base . Once there, the aircraft underwent a carefully documented test program. At this time, electronic data recording technology was not well developed, so instrument readings were recorded by a movie camera pointed at the instrument panel. Additional movie cameras were carried to record test results. The first Constitution made a nonstop flight from NAS Moffett Field , California to NAS Patuxent River , Maryland on 25 July 1948,
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#1732783851049990-441: The aircraft was underpowered so the engines were changed for 3,500 hp (with water injection) R-4360-22-W engines. The R6O also tested assisted takeoffs with six rockets mounted on the wings near the fuselage. At full gross weight, the rockets shortened the takeoff run by 24%. Ship No. 1 was delivered to Navy Transport Squadron 44 (VR-44), based at Naval Air Station Alameda , on 2 February 1949. Both it and its sister ship flew
1035-423: The chase helicopter, but nowhere near the 300 mph (500 km/h) reported in the original story, and failed to become airborne. The myth was revisited in 2007, using a different configuration of rockets in an attempt to make the car fly; it exploded before reaching the end of its launch ramp. The myth was again revisited in 2013 in the 1st episode of Mythbusters Season 12, as a celebration of their 10th year on
1080-589: The event of war. Other German experiments with JATO were aimed at assisting the launch of interceptor aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Me 262 C, as the Heimatschützer special versions, usually fitted with either a version of the Walter HWK 109-509 liquid fuelled rocket engine from the Me 163 Komet program either in the extreme rear of the fuselage or semi-"podded" beneath it just behind
1125-415: The full length of the fuselage, as well as a full-length lower third deck for cargo. It entered regular service in late-October 2007. Canceled projects for double-deck passenger aircraft JATO JATO ( acronym for jet-assisted take-off ) is a type of assisted take-off for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets . The term JATO
1170-491: The fuselage proudly advertised "Your Navy—Air And Sea." Some 546,000 toured the aircraft's interior. The Constitution had operational difficulties which prevented it from meeting its original design objectives. The large airframe needed more power than the four Pratt & Whitney R-4360s could deliver, and the engines had cooling problems. While this could be compensated for by flying with engine cowl flaps partially open, it increased drag and decreased range. The Navy operated
1215-455: The invasion of Britain, and used to supply the Russian front. The enormous Me 321s originally had air tow assistance from up to three Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters in a so-called Troika-Schlepp arrangement into the air with loads that would have made the takeoff run too long otherwise, but with much attendant risk of aerial collision from the trio of vee-formation Bf 110s involved in
1260-407: The landing) did, causing the aircraft to crash-land. JATO became largely unnecessary as the take-off thrust of jet engines improved and is now rarely used even when operating heavily laden from short runways or in "hot and high" conditions. It is occasionally used in exceptional circumstances, on specially equipped, mostly military, aircraft. The JATO Rocket Car is an urban legend that relates
1305-797: The late 1950s, zero-length launch experimental programs for launching fighter aircraft were carried out by the United States Air Force , the German Air Force and the Soviet Air Forces using high-thrust, short-burn duration booster designs of similar appearance and function. The USAF used a modified Republic F-84 , designated EF-84G, which used the MGM-1 Matador cruise missile's Aerojet General–designed, 240 kN (26 short ton) thrust-level solid fuel booster of two second thrust duration. The Soviet VVS used
1350-600: The propeller, attached six JATO units under the wings, and Boushey was thrust into the air for a short flight, the first American to fly by rocket power only. Both armed services used solid fuel JATO during the war. After World War II JATO was often used to overcome the poor thrust of early jet engines at low speeds or for assisting heavily loaded aircraft to take off. For example, the propeller engined Avro Shackleton , when heavily laden with fuel for long maritime surveillance flights, relied on Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojets for takeoff. The world's first jet airliner ,
1395-455: The rear of the forward bulkhead, in front of the spiral staircase leading to the lower deck, there was a permanent display case containing a scale model of the original USS Constitution sailing ship. The lower deck had 7,373 cubic feet (208.8 m) of cargo space, and it was loaded by an electrical hoist. The lower deck could also be converted to seat an additional 76 passengers. The second Constitution, like its predecessor, also made
Lockheed R6V Constitution - Misplaced Pages Continue
1440-404: The rocket was released from the back of the plane to fall into the water and sink. The task done, the pilot would fly to friendly territory if possible or parachute from the plane, hopefully to be picked up by one of the escort vessels. Over two years the system was only employed nine times to attack German aircraft with eight kills recorded for the loss of a single pilot. The Luftwaffe also used
1485-429: The route between California and Hawaii , approximately 2,390 mi (3,850 km). The second Constitution, BuNo 85164, first flew on 9 June 1948, reaching 25,000 feet during a two-hour flight. Unlike Ship No. 1, the upper deck was fully furnished as a luxury passenger transport, with accommodations for 92 passengers and 12 crew. Accommodations on the upper deck of the first Constitution were decidedly more spartan. On
1530-485: The same with 300 ft (91 m) of runway with a JATO Jr unit. JATO Junior bottles mounted to the engine nacelles were briefly offered as a factory option on the Beechcraft Twin Bonanza ; they were promoted not as a takeoff aid, but rather as a means to extend glide distance during a forced landing in unfavorable terrain. However, it is not known whether the bottles were ever actually installed on
1575-668: The story of a car equipped with JATO units that is later found smashed into a mountainside. This story is often given as an example of a Darwin Award ; it appears to be apocryphal, with no basis in fact. The legend has been examined several times on the Discovery Channel show MythBusters . For the first attempt, in a 2003 pilot episode, the crew replicated the scene and the thrust of the JATO with some commercially available amateur rocket motors. The car did go very fast, outrunning
1620-563: The technique with both liquid-fueled units made by the Walter firm and BMW – and solid fuel, themselves made both by the Schmidding and WASAG firms – as both firmly attached and jettisonable rocket motors, to get airborne more quickly and with shorter takeoff runs. These were used to boost the takeoff performance of their medium bombers, and the enormous 55-meter wingspan Gigant , Messerschmitt Me 321 glider, conceived in 1940 for
1665-524: The thick wings to all four engines. The aircraft was designed by a team of engineers led by Willis Hawkins and W.A. Pulver of Lockheed and Commander E. L. Simpson, Jr. of the Navy. The name Constitution was given to the project by Lockheed president Robert E. Gross . The Constitution design had a "double bubble" fuselage, the cross section of which was a "figure eight". This unorthodox design, originally created in 1937 by Curtiss-Wright 's chief aircraft designer George A. Page Jr. and first introduced with
1710-471: The time. Although the Martin JRM Mars flying boat had a slightly longer wingspan, the Constitution remains the largest fixed-wing aircraft type ever operated by the U.S. Navy. The Lockheed Constitution began life in 1942 as a joint study by the U.S. Navy, Pan Am , and Lockheed. The design requirements, initially designated Lockheed Model 89 , called for a large transport aircraft to improve upon
1755-513: The top deck smaller than the main deck. Boeing originally designed the distinctive 747 bubble top with air cargo usage in mind. The small top deck permitted the cockpit and a few passengers and nose doors with unobstructed access to the full length of the hold. Most 747s are passenger jets, and a small percentage are cargo jets with nose doors. The first full double-deck jet airliner is the Airbus A380 , which has two passenger decks extending
1800-556: The two Constitutions through the end of the 1940s and into the 1950s. By 1949 the Navy announced that it could no longer afford to operate them, and offered them to airlines on a five-year lease. There was no interest from airlines in using the Constitutions (the airline version was named the Model 189 ), so the Navy retired both aircraft in 1953. They went into storage at NAS Litchfield Park , Arizona in 1955. Both aircraft and 13 spare engines were sold for $ 97,785. Lockheed proposed
1845-538: The wide variety of aircraft types that the HWK-designed Starthilfe modular liquid monopropellant booster designs were tested with, seeing some degree of front-line use; the aforementioned solid-fueled RATO booster designs from both the Schmidding and WASAG firms remained almost strictly experimental in nature, with the Schmidding 500 kg thrust solid-fueled booster units intended to see service,
Lockheed R6V Constitution - Misplaced Pages Continue
1890-508: The wing's trailing edge, to assist its Junkers Jumo 004 turbojets, or a pair of specially rocket-boosted BMW 003R combination jet-rocket powerplants in place of the Jumo 004s, so that the Me 262C Heimatschützer interceptors could reach enemy bomber formations sooner. Two prototypes of the Heimatschützer versions of the Me 262 were built and test flown, of the three designs proposed. In contrast to
1935-694: Was built in the summer of 1946 at the Lockheed plant in Burbank, California . Due to the aircraft's large size—the tail towered 50 feet (15 m)—Lockheed had to build a special hangar for final assembly. The hangar, Lockheed-California's Building 309, measured 408 ft (124 m) long, 302 ft (92 m) wide, and the equivalent of six stories tall. The footprint of the hangar covered 4 acres (16,000 m). It cost $ 1,250,000. The R6O made its first flight on 9 November 1946, powered by interim 3,000 hp R-4360-18 radials. Joe Towle and Tony LeVier flew
1980-574: Was flown to Opa-Locka Airport , Florida, where it was damaged by an internal fire, suspected by the authorities to be arson , while the aircraft was being prepared for a ferry flight to Barcelona . It remained stored at Opa-Locka in June 1970, but was eventually scrapped. Data from Lockheed Aircraft since 1913 General characteristics Performance Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Double-deck aircraft Many early flying boat airliners, such as
2025-463: Was the first rocket research to receive financial assistance from the U.S. government since World War I when Robert H. Goddard had an Army contract to develop solid fuel rocket weapons. In late 1941 von Kármán and his team attached several 50-pound thrust, solid fuel Aerojet JATOs to a light Ercoupe plane, and Army Captain Homer Boushey took off on test runs. On the last run they removed
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