With a wingspan stretching to 117 metres, wider than the length of a football pitch, the Stratolaunch plane rose to 14,000 feet and reached a top speed of 199mph test flight on Thursday.
"We are airborne,” the company tweeted at around 8.30am local time, as the plane's six-engines propelled it into the sky above the Southern California desert.
The plane's 28 wheels touched down just over three hours later.
Stratolaunch was started in 2011 by Burt Rutan and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who passed away before the plane's first test flight took place in April 2019.
Stratolaunch flies again
- TheGreenGoblin
- Chief Pilot
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Stratolaunch flies again
Though you remain
Convinced
"To be alive
You must have somewhere
To go
Your destination remains
Elusive."
Convinced
"To be alive
You must have somewhere
To go
Your destination remains
Elusive."
Re: Stratolaunch flies again
I thought that after Paul Allen died the project was mothballed.
Haven't heard anything about it until I saw a short video of the flight on a news website. No further info given.
PP
Haven't heard anything about it until I saw a short video of the flight on a news website. No further info given.
PP
- TheGreenGoblin
- Chief Pilot
- Posts: 17596
- Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2019 11:02 pm
- Location: With the Water People near Trappist-1
Re: Stratolaunch flies again
Dick Rutan has sure produced some interesting aircraft over the years... I had the pleasure of flying a VariEze many moon ago. Great fun...
Though you remain
Convinced
"To be alive
You must have somewhere
To go
Your destination remains
Elusive."
Convinced
"To be alive
You must have somewhere
To go
Your destination remains
Elusive."