After all these years I still think Thunderbird 2 is a great design . If money was no object, using modern materials and now-how could this beauty get off the ground?
Keeping to the original design as much as possible how much change would it need?
A 45 year old who has never grown up!
P.S Any other old TV/Film/comic etc aircraft of old that you think really could fly?
Jetlagged From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2005, 2606 posts, RR: 25
Reply 3, posted (8 years 1 month 3 weeks 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 5621 times:
Quoting Starlionblue (Reply 1): That fuse probably produces a lot of lift. So it would probably fly. But I bet top speed would be low because of drag.
Sometimes it "flew" without the pod (e.g. after TB4 launch into the sea). So fuselage lift becomes horrible fuselage drag. I don't think they ever showed TB4 being recovered, maybe they had to call International Rescue...
What was the tailplane all about? I think it may have been part of the propulsion system but it was never explained AFAIK. Even at my tender age it was clear to me TB2 could not be supersonic. Great design idea though. Reminded me, in concept, of the S-64 Skycrane helicopter.
Wasn't there a fixed wing transport prototype with a similar cargo pod too?
From the wikipedia article, linked above in the OP, about special effects:
Meddings' solution was to construct a belt of canvas, stretched over rollers and driven by an electric motor. The miniature elevator cars were then fixed in position by fine wires on this "rolling road". The Fireflash model was suspended from wires above the elevator cars and it could be lowered onto the runway, creating a smooth and remarkably convincing descent effect. A similar roller system, painted with a sky background was built at right angles to the runway, and both roller motors were synchronised to provide a matching speed for both elements.
The glass isn't half empty, or half full, it's twice as big as it needs to be.
Ditto (give ot take a couple of years), and Thunderbirds is largely responsible. I still watch the DVDs from time to time. CGI does a great job these days but Gerry Anderson's crew produced such fantastic models.
777236ER From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR:
Reply 5, posted (8 years 1 month 3 weeks 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 5429 times:
Thunderbird 1 was better, it flew at a mighty 15,000mph! There are more important questions to ask about Thunderbird 1 than Thunderbird 2. For example, what is it for?! It flew very fast, then they got the desk out, then they waited for Thunderbird 2 to come and sort the job out. Also, how did they even get the desk out, it was massive!
Yet it taxied at walking pace for what seemed like ages, passing all the folding palm trees to the launch ramp. Gerry Andersen had a great sense of the dramatic. Must have had, to create a puppet show we're all still talking about.
Quoting David L (Reply 6): Why didn't they just consolidate the two designs? Like this...