What's a similar looking aircraft to this illustration?

Question

There is this crazy picture of a plane or a boat or both...?

Crazy Plane

This is just a drawing, I know, but if this aircraft does not exist, is there perhaps a similar looking one in reality?

For "existence" and what this means you have to post a question on the stack exchange philosophy site. — , Dec 22 '17 at 19:20
Just a random comment: I was at a RC aircraft show and saw a model based off of your drawing. That thing was a large-scale model (by my estimate 6 or 7 feet wide) and was awesome! — dalearn, Dec 22 '17 at 20:19
The airplane depicted is a seaplane which seems to be roughly 70 feet in height. The largest real seaplane in the world seems to be only 40 feet in height: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVIC_AG600 — Tanner Swett, Dec 22 '17 at 20:24
@TannerSwett It was probably this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules — , Dec 22 '17 at 20:29
@TannerSwett The Spruce Goose would dispute that claim, and had a total height of 79 feet. The fuselage height on the H-4 was only 30 feet (your 39 foot is total height, probably closer to 18 for the fuselage only). — Ron Beyer, Dec 22 '17 at 20:29
I wonder where the fuel is supposed to be stored, if even the wings are occupied by passengers. — aviator, Dec 24 '17 at 13:02
Very recent, anachronistic answer: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/24/ag600-world-largest-amphibious-aircraft-takes-off-in-china — DaG, Dec 25 '17 at 13:57
I believe the golden bar/pillar in the right foreground is a palm tree trunk. — Todd, Dec 22 '17 at 19:08
Given the windows on the leading edge, suggested additional reading: Why are there so few aircraft that had inhabited wings? — Toby Speight, Mar 04 '19 at 15:56

RedGrittyBrick · Answer 1 · 2017-12-27T12:05:24.247

is there perhaps a similar looking one in reality?

Not really, however the fictional five-deck flying boat depicted is clearly an extrapolation of flying boats of the first half of the 20th century.

Visually, the Short Empire class is the most similar:

domed cockpit at front of hull
hull chines
four radial engines mounted in-wing with three-blade propellers
conventional empennage

^{Photo of a Short Empire, Public Domain}

^{Photo of a Short Sunderland, CCASA3.0 Nick.D}

The largest all-metal flying boat developed for civilian passenger service was the Saunders-Roe Princess which only had two passenger-decks.

^{Photo of a Saunders-Roe Princess, Public Domain}

The largest flying boat was probably the Hughes H-4 Hercules, popularly known as the Spruce Goose. It was designed for military transport (hence no windows). I believe it would have accomodated both troops and military vehicles but probably no more than two decks.

^{Photo of Hughes H-4 Hercules, Public Domain}

@RalphJ: There you go. Answer edited. I didn't initially include it because I couldn't really find a picture that showed the similarity well and which wouldn't require obtaining copyright permission. Someone will probably suggest Boeing Clipper next and it will end with arguments about Ekranoplan etc. ;-) — RedGrittyBrick, Dec 22 '17 at 23:53
That's a nice picture, and I *promise* I won't suggest going into the Ekranoplan! Dang, but Hughes' plane was a beast! — Ralph J, Dec 23 '17 at 00:13

score 37 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 22 '17 at 19:14

37

This was part of an ad campaign for Timken Roller Bearings in 1946. It is a drawing by George Shepherd.

answered Dec 22 '17 at 19:14

Zack

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I'm disappointed that it does not exist. Thanks for the answer – Squareoot Dec 22 '17 at 20:01
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It wouldn't fly from the way it looks. – Dec 22 '17 at 20:31
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It's worth noting that the (magnificent) recent Ghibli animated biopic film The Wind Rises features craft something like this in the dream sequences. (It's a movie about Jiro Horikoshi, the dude who designed the Zero. The film features both absolutely realistic actual aircraft, and in the dream sequences, strange fantasy aircraft.) – Fattie Dec 22 '17 at 23:07
*Nice* find! – Ralph J Dec 22 '17 at 23:35
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That would be an interesting hotel idea. – Davidw Dec 23 '17 at 21:10
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@jjack - Are "would it fly" questions off-topic? – Richard Dec 24 '17 at 11:35
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@Richard I don't know because I'm not a moderator. If you just have a picture it can be difficult to give a reasonable answer, because there is no weight and weight distribution info. – Dec 24 '17 at 11:38
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@jjack: It does look like something the engineers of that time would had designed if they had ever gotten the money to do so. What would make it unflyable is only the absolute size and the inexorability of scaling laws. – Peter Kämpf Dec 25 '17 at 23:25
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@PeterKämpf Yes. Designers and artists conceive of good looking vehicles frequently, just sometimes the realization can cause problems. – Dec 26 '17 at 00:16
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@Fattie If you like The Wind Rises you might also like Porco Roso. – Chloe Dec 26 '17 at 04:35
hey @Chloe ! right, I'm very familiar with it! :) Happy New Year ... – Fattie Dec 26 '17 at 22:24
Great info here giving the year of the commercial illustration in question. Interestingly, it seems the Boeing 314 Clipper basic info on that was retired that same year. What a forward-looking time. – Fattie Dec 26 '17 at 22:37

score 13 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 25 '17 at 23:16

13

The only successful plane with inhabited wing might have been the Junkers G.38, (which was explored in Germany by the character in studio Ghibli "the Wind Rises".)

SaRo P.192 "Queen"

edited Dec 25 '17 at 23:16

John Dallman

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answered Dec 23 '17 at 06:29

John Frazer

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The holes in the wing for the P.192 are jet engine intakes, no? – Dec 23 '17 at 07:58
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Ah, that's where the engines are. I was wondering. – Mr Lister Dec 23 '17 at 11:55
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the second plane looks like a space craft, a war space craft to be honest – Nasreddine Galfout Dec 24 '17 at 23:05
It has a fairly brawny look to it. I myself don't see the spacecraft resemblance though. – Dec 26 '17 at 00:19
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Quite right, as I mention above ... It's worth noting that the (magnificent) recent Ghibli animated biopic film The Wind Rises features craft something like (the OP image) in the dream sequences. (It's a movie about Jiro Horikoshi, the dude who designed the Zero. The film features both absolutely realistic actual aircraft, and in the dream sequences, strange fantasy aircraft.) The sequences involving the Junkers G.38 have perfectly realistic exteriors, and the interior is kind of a larger-then-life dream-fantasy. – Fattie Dec 26 '17 at 22:27

score 13 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 24 '17 at 10:23

13

How About the Dornier Do X Dornier Do X on Wikipedia

answered Dec 24 '17 at 10:23

Stinky Peat

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@mins perhaps I am missing something, but this seems like a very decent attempt at an answer. – J W Dec 24 '17 at 11:34
It seems to have far less in common with the fictional aircraft in the picture in the question than aircraft shown in earlier answers. – Peter Green Dec 25 '17 at 23:29
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This is the most accurate and informative answer here, in the search for the real equivalent of the illustration in question. Good one! – Fattie Dec 26 '17 at 22:28
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That thing held the record for twenty years for number of people carried in a plane. – Fattie Dec 26 '17 at 22:33

score 7 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 25 '17 at 22:08

7

That 5-decker design is outdone, amongst never-built flying boats, by Norman Bel Geddes' Airliner No. 4 design concept from 1929, with nine decks:

answered Dec 25 '17 at 22:08

John Dallman

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Ahhh .. Norman Bel Geddes. Brilliant answer! – Fattie Dec 26 '17 at 22:30

What's a similar looking aircraft to this illustration?

5 Answers5