🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sat, 19 Dec 1992 00:54:41 GMT, henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) said:

HS> A lot of people were surprised when the Soviets brought the first Buran
HS> to the Paris air show -- flying it in atop a Mriya, straight through a
HS> rainstorm.  (What *really* made jaws drop:  after landing, they got
HS> directions to their parking place... and one million pounds of aircraft
HS> turned off the runway and taxied across the *grass* to the right spot.
HS> You won't see NASA's 747 doing that...)

You won't see anybody's 747 doing that!

That's the disadvantage of civil aircraft--rarely can the big ones go
anywhere but a well-paved surface.  

(I write "big" there so that no smart alec will say "What about
Markair's L-100 (civilian C-130) service onto the gravel above the
Arctic Circle?"  I know you all too well!)

Now I think that the C-17 could at least carry the weight of the
Shuttle and it certainly has a big enough vertical stab for
lateral-directional stability.  If we really want forward airfield
capability, maybe we should be looking in that direction.  Of course,
the real question is how badly do we want to taxi on the grass?

--
Mary Shafer  DoD #0362 KotFR NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
shafer@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov                    Of course I don't speak for NASA
 "A MiG at your six is better than no MiG at all."  Unknown US fighter pilot