Giant Aircraft!

 Everyone has had a go at design and building?

From the 1920's Italy, the U.K. and America have thought about building large aircraft, but it was only Italy and Russia that got there with commercial types that actually flew beyond belief. 

But with the outbreak of World War-II (1939-45), everything change this large craft of years past were now to slow, so new ideas and concepts were put into place and being not so really big they worked?

Hughes built his giant flying boat taking a long standing world record, followed by the MARS that was only a water bomber until retired a few years ago. aircraft did get bigger with the coming of the Jet age, but people wanted more and so came the Boeing 747 Jumbo and many Lockheed military giants or deployment to Vietnam late 50;s to the early 70's!

The Soviet Union developed their own civil and military giants from the MIL-Mi 10, 12 and 26 to hold various records, the Antonov AN-22, An-125 and 225, which all still are in operation today with the Ilyushin IL-76, and civil IL-86/92.

Today the European Airbus have the A380-800 and the even newer A350-9/1000 that is pointing the future ahead?

Iran has entered the Space race!

 Three satellites on one ICBM?

The United States was the first nation to condemn Iran for their achievement of possibly putting up their own spy satellite with two others and what this will mean for the years ahead in mapping and communications having not to rely on others, but there is much more to this success and that will include a manned mission a robot, if not a manned landing on the Moon and much more!

Space is now more complicated than it was fifty years ago with the Moon landings, real or not since there is some doubt how the U.S. got there when we are struggling with our modern tech to do the same?

China and India are leading the way, while Japan has gone its own way and all have proved to be doing and discovering new things that Russia and the U.S. don't want to do, but in the years to come much will be achieved as we exhaust the discoveries within our solar system, even the distant worlds still to be observed beyond Pluto/

Private ventures by Elon Musk will be amazing in going to the outer gas giants, while Boeing has developed and new Space shuttle and Space tourism is some venture for the near future as the ISS is coming to the end of its thirty-year life and the possibility of more than one Moon base becomes a reality?

Military transport Aircraft. Part-Two.

Enter the Giants.

The United States have a choice of three heavy transports from the C-141 Star lifter, C-17 Globe master and the enormous C-5 Galaxy. This has proven invaluable for them as a world superpower over the years.

Initially the Soviet Union and now the Russian Federation to have developed their three types, but all from one manufacturer Antonov with the An-22, An-124 Ruslan and the An-224 Mirya (Dream).

Both superpowers have also the back up of their own large civilian commercials such as the Boeing 747-2/400F' and the Ilyushin IL-89/96.

These dominate heavy lifting capability around the world, in the moving of missile systems, radars, and extra warheads, The Boeing 747-400 and the Russian Antonov An-224 were adopted and developed for both the NASA Space shuttle and the Soviet Buran to piggy back between landing and relaunching.

Most of the aircraft are capable of the movement of between 150 to 250 fully laden combat troops, with essential equipment from vehicles to artillery. Apart from Surface to Surface missiles, there is of course the need to move medium range mobile carriers for Nuclear ICBMs.

Today some of these aircraft also work with the United Nations in medical and food relief to disaster zones.

Antonov Family. Part-Two.

Into the Jet age with the An-72/74.

The need for speed was perhaps one of the driving forces in the demand for this type of aircraft transport, which may also be seen as their copy of the BAE 146-100. 

The same principles for the An-24/32 was still demanded in this jet age version, but it was not initially as successful as the turbo props? Perhaps because it was not offered for export for some time and the turbo-props were good enough for foreign export.

India received the type and like the Antonov-28/32 was permitted a license to build their own. This policy continues to this day. One cannot be sure if the Ukraine is still capable of building and exporting or if the aero facilities have been moved to the Russian federation.

Apart from the giants like the An-124/224, a smaller aircraft to replace the An-22 was long overdue with the development of the An-70 transport. it has very good weight lift capability and uses the twisted propellers of the Tupolev Tu-95 bears.

Antonov followed with its own version of the BAE/RJ-100/300, but only with to engines rather than four. This aircraft has seen better success in the civilian commercial market one believes instead of the military.

Bio-Fuels.

Bio-Fuels.

With the ever increasing tension's across the globe and the uncertainty to the constant flow of cheap energy, will this effect the use of machines? 

There does need to be a call for more investment into the development of bio-fuels and the use of other forms of energy such as hydrogen cell technology to drive aircraft, trains, and all other vehicles. 

The question is will it happen globally or will it be limited, because of the final call by the energy producing giants and the costs or profits for them?