What It’s Like to Fly the World’s Largest Airplane

Stratolaunch’s chief pilot reveals <i>Roc</i> ’s fascinating flight dynamics and what’s next for the historic, twin-fuselage jet.

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Better Breathing

<P>To one degree or another, many of the systems found on the typical light airplane are afterthoughts tacked on after the airframers got done bending the aluminum into a flyable shape.<P>This is especially true of the engine exhaust system. When Lycoming and Continental design an engine, they don't pay all that much attention to what flows into the thing and you can bet even less time is lavished on what comes out, unless it has to drive a turbocharger.<P>Traditionally, the engine makers have left exhaust system design to the manufacturers, who have tended to view it merely as a plumbing problem. The pipes are bent and routed so as to fit into the cowling, rarely with any regard to volume...

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