Dop: I can't get your link to work. However, here's one that does seem to, for a turboprop variant posed at the South Pole: http://home.hiwaay.net/~jlwebs/pix/AN3atSouthPole.jpg

That site appears to be having some problems at the moment.

The plane I was referring to had the top wing removed and the bottom wing replaced with a really huge wing that had cranked ends and extended back almost as far as the tail. It looked very odd, with inches of ground clearance below the back of the wing,
But I can't find any other pictures of it for now.

"Dieselpunk"?

I must have missed that one. I still like some "steampunk".

Given the past two postings, do I detect a future novel in the works? I hope you are checking the "Man Conquers Space" and "Deep Cold" websites as well as the Hobbyspace website for information...

I gues I know what we'll be talking about in the pub tomorrow!

Tony: hopefully not.

Fred: yes, it's preliminary research for something rather weird. But I won't even think about starting it until autumn -- got a fantasy novel to finish and then an SF novel to redraft first.

Well...let me know if you need additional resources, in terms of good websites to consult, books to check, and even a few people to chat with.

Come May, you can get Disney's "Tomorrowland" DVD including their version of the von Braun space program and more! That ought to be good for some inspiration!

But don't forget that that atomic airplane played a crucial role in Gene Wolf's "Free, Live Free".

I think at one point people thought that in the future, everything was going to run off atomic power.

I'm sure when I was a lad I had this book that explained how by the 1980s, even cars would run off atomic power. (but still look like clunky 1960s cars!)

Interesting. Was the nuclar powered bomber concept killed by the same treaty that killed Project Orion?

I don't believe that the nuclear-powered bomber was killed by the treaty that killed the Orion "boom-boom" ship. It was more than likely the fact that the atomic pile is a pretty heavy thing. In a submarine, you've got some assistance (water) in supporting your vehicle. But I'll bet the amount of power vs. weight of the pile/shielding didnt' work out.

It'll be interesting to see if the ships in "Sky Captains" (out later this year) are atomic powered...

The reactor shielding was indeed heavy -- but the trick the US project used was to interpose shielding between the crew and the reactor, leaving all other angles unshielded. That way, they could get away with only about 20 tons of shielding which, on something the size of the proposed B-60, was trivial. (While on the ground with the reactors sub-critical shielding would be less of an issue.)

The Russians flew a modified Tu-95 Bear with the two inner turboprops running off a reactor in the bomb bay -- but without any shielding. Apparently two of the test crew are still alive, although most of them died of cancer within only a few years of the test program.

What really killed the nuclear-powered bomber was the ICBM, which was cheaper and more efficient. (I'm researching this stuff for a possible SF novel in which ICBMs -- and spacecraft in general -- simply Don't Work, for reasons involving alien intervention, Big Dumb Objects, and other space operatic toys.)

Edited by author 03-04-2004 03:30 PM
For more fun and games from the start of the atomic era, take a look at the bombs melting the icecaps and the "Fortress on a Skyhook" here:

http://www.kschroeder.com/1041898524/index_html

FPK3

I'd heard of the US programme, but not the Tu-95. There's also :Steam Bird:, sf by Hilbert Schenk describing a nuclear heated steam powered bomber.

Looks liek nuclear ramjets are still alive, with some peopel proposing them for exploration of Jupiters atmosphere:

http://www.newworlds.com/ramjetjp.html

Thats the name of it! steambird! Most amusing read, very fifties style. I was suprised to discover pluto was real after reading about it in charles story. What a nightmare idea!

Coo. A possible *russian* hypersonic cruise missile?
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wi...tionworld-headlines