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Chinese State Company Unveils World's Largest Seaplane (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: China has completed production of the world's largest amphibious aircraft, state media has said, the latest effort in the country's program to wean itself off dependence on foreign aviation firms. The state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) unveiled the first of the new planes, dubbed the AG600, Saturday in the southern port city of Zhuhai, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The aircraft, which has a maximum range of 4,500 km (2,800 miles), is intended for fighting forest fires and performing marine rescues, it said. At around the size of a Boeing 737, it is far larger than any other plane built for marine take off and landing, Xinhua quoted AVIC's deputy general manager Geng Ruguang as saying. The AG600 could potentially extend the Asian giant's ability to conduct a variety of operations in the South China Sea, where it has built a series of artificial islands featuring air strips, among other infrastructure with the potential for either civilian or military use.
Or perhaps it's the 'peking duck'
...the Spruce Goose
Largest by what measure? Largest currently in production? Largest wingspan? Longest? Biggest range? Biggest cargo capacity?
This plane has a length of 37 meters and a wingspan of 39 meters. The Blohm & Voss BV 238 had a length of over 43 meters and a wingspan of over 60 meters! And that was in WWII.
Even TFA discounts that title, saying:
However, its wingspan is considerably smaller than that of the H-4 Hercules, known as the Spruce Goose, which was designed in the 1940s to carry Allied troops into battle. It is regarded as by far the largest seaplane ever built although it only ever made one flight, in 1947.
Fascinating. The moderators have downmodded all of the posts using the word 'nigger' because it's an ethnic slur. However, the post in between uses 'cracker', which is also an ethnic slur, and hasn't been downmodded. Apparently if you use ethnic slurs for blacks, it's not tolerated. However, it looks like moderators are okay with ethnic slurs for whites. It appears that the moderators are racist.
What is this? a technicality? -will they say it's the "largest current production seaplane"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules
A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
When a country has People's in the name, it generally doesn't mean all of them. Far from it.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Did I wake up for the 1930s? I thought interest in giant seaplanes died out after WW2.
So it's designed for firefighting & rescue. Nice to see it's intended for a beneficial use. And who doesn't believe that? After all there's absolutely no reason at all that the Chinese might want to transport things like military equipment to places where there are no long-runway airfields but plenty of water.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Yup, I'm sure this thing was built for fighting forest fires and marine rescue. I bet it can also pick up the occasional manganese nodule.
Racist idiot
This plane's wingspan is only 151 feet. The Hughes Hercules has a wingspan of 218 feet. The Martin Mars has a wingspan of 200 feet, and it's still in use for firefighting operations in Canada.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Sea planes are mostly planes that can use water as a takeoff and landing surface, but don't generally operate on the water as seagoing vessels.
Has anyone ever built sort of the opposite, a vessel that can fly but has some designed in ability to stay on the water more in the manner of a boat?
Maybe with gas turbines for electric generation, electric motor props and a electric pod drives retractable into the fuselage for marine propulsion?
Perhaps the engineering is too complex or it would do neither job well enough to be worthwhile, but it seems like there may be some interesting niches where rapid access to a remote ocean location is desirable but where there's some task needed where loitering and maneuvering on the surface of the water is desirable in ways or for time periods that an airplane isn't useful.
Communism seems like a good idea in theory. However human instinct comes into play.
A perfectly Equal world where everyone shares their talents for the greater good, doesn't have really work.
There will alway be people who want more power and more status. It is mostly a genetic trait, as the Alpha Males will want to mate with the Alpha Women, so both sides will do things to prove their dominance. So there will always be some people who have a disproportionate amount of power over others.
The trick with a government structure it to insure there is appropriate upward mobility path (Otherwise natural Alpha People, will start revolutions so they get their Alpha status vindicated). Also to insure that non-alphas are not allowed to diminish.
China has been slowly adding additional Capitalism into its structure allowing more upward mobility, thus keeping the current government in control.
Smaller governments can keep Communism running in its more pure form for longer (Cuba, North Korea) as the lower population is more able to control. However USSR, and China who where the big names in communism, only lasted for a few generations until the people found out that they were not growing as fast as they should.
Now Capitalism and Representative Democracy has its problems too. Most notability it doesn't give the non-Alphas much of a safety net, and they could fall hard and live a much lower quality of life. However there is still optimism that it is possible to break out of the poverty chain. While Many communist countries are more or less resigned to their status in life.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
People. Democratic, Republic... In short terms that try to sound Nationalistic makes me worried.
In America.
PATRIOT act
Homeland Security
* Freedom *
These are terms that make me very worried because they imply that if you are against it, than you are not a proper American.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Remember that Chinese kid in your math and physics classes, the one who never spoke to anyone and always got 100% on all the tests while you were busy getting drunk and high in college? Well, there you go.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Logic fail. The boolean state EITHER OR exists only in your mind.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
The European, not the African version.
300 ft wingspan for the Hercules H4 (Spruce Goose).. 113 ft for the 737 (used for comparison).
Howard Hughes is amused.
But then of course African 737's are non-migratory.
True 737 is not amphibious, but an airbus of similar size successfully landed in the Hudson. Piloted by Salty Cheeseburger or someone named like that.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
My favorite seaplane:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Communism seems like a good idea in theory. However human instinct comes into play.
Same can be said of literally every governmental or economic structure. They're all based on everyone adhering to some idealized psychology that always has exceptions. Capitalism is based on the ideas that people will act rationally, in their own self-interest. This is great for selfish bastards, and selfish bastards tend to rise to the top in that system. Look at Washington and Wall Street, and tell me whether you think it's a good plan to put selfish bastards in charge.
It's one of those words that is usually intended to be offensive, so probably best avoided unless you want to be misunderstood, even if there isn't quite the same history associated with it as there is with "nigger". In any case, the GP just got their dig in a bit too early. Moderation takes time, and a few minutes after they posted the cracker remark was down at -1 too.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
The article states this Chinese plane is roughly the size of a 737, which is given in wikipedia as having a wingspan of 117 ft with winglets, and a length of 138 ft max, both of those numbers for the 737 NG.
Back in the late 30's, Pan Am and BOAC flew the Boeing 314 Clipper.
Boeing 314 had wingspan of 152 ft, length of 106 ft, cruise of 163 kts, range of 3,685 miles at cruise. 11 crew, 74 passengers.
OK so it's not pressurized, it cruised at 163 kts and may not even be the largest flying boat made - but this one flew for airlines and made money, unlike the Hughes Hercules. One of them did an unintended round-the-world flight.. on December 7, 1941. Pacific Clipper. It was born California Clipper but renamed after that impromptu round-the-world flight.
As an aside trivia, Pan Am did later launch in 1947 two round-the-worlds that persisted into the Jet Age and kept doing it until Pan Am was dismembered in a futile attempt to survive. The round-the-worlds were Flight 1 (Clipper 1) westbound, Flight 2 (Clipper 2) eastbound. Initially they were done with Lockheed Constellations.
Is the Chinese one actually flying, or is it vaporware?
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
It's one of those words that is usually intended to be offensive
Nah, it's not words that are offensive. It's people who want an excuse to be offended. When I grew up, the infamous "n" word was a very bad word indeed. You didn't say that word unless you wanted to be seen as racist and probably gutter trash. Conversely - many black people use that word among each other in an almost automatic fashion without meaning any offense. Comedians, also, manage to use that word and get away with it. So apparently the word is polymorphic - sometimes it's offensive, sometimes it's friendly, sometimes it's even funny.
Wrong. Words are just words. They have no magical properties. It's actions that people should be judged by.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Similar layout, but nowhere near "exactly."
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
That's what I said... Maybe you didn't parse it or something, but my point was the same as yours. It's the intent that matters, and to a lesser extent the fact that people are likely to assume bad intent if you say certain notorious things.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Maybe you didn't parse it or something,
Probably. I'm an old fart and I read much too quickly nowadays when it's "mission critical" stuff. Like internet posts on boards. Glad to see we agree :P
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
China supplies 80% medicines
http://m.bbc.com/news/business...
Casteism